


Close Encounters

by sultrysweet



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-18 02:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5895001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sultrysweet/pseuds/sultrysweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Adam asks Kara to go away with him for the weekend, naturally she invites Cat to join them. While they're away from their every day lives, they're able to learn more about each other in a more relaxed environment. Except, things aren't as relaxed as they seem when certain discoveries about themselves and each other are revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first multi-chapter Supercat fic. Yay! Don't hate me for including Adam. I do not under any circumstances ship him and Kara. The only person on Supergirl that I ship her with is Cat. Adam is in the fic for a while, but there won't be a lot of date scenes or anything romantic like that between him and Kara. I just wanted to be perfectly clear with that before you start reading, especially if disclosing this information actually encourages you to read this despite Adam's presence. THIS WILL BE THE BUILD UP TO SUPERCAT. I promise. :)

Kara was acutely aware of the fact that Cat was watching them from inside her office. The work room was hardly the place for a conversation with her boss’ son, at least one of a personal matter. Any of her coworkers could see and, even without super-hearing, listen in on what was said between them. But they’d been dating for a little over two months, so Adam coming to her job with lunch for her was normal for most people at that point in a relationship. It didn’t even bother her that he was there. She just didn’t like the scrutiny, and she wasn’t just talking about Cat Grant.

“So I was thinking,” she heard Adam say, but her attention drifted to over his shoulder where she could see James pretending to work as he looked up frequently to stare at them. “I know this is still new, you and me, but what do you think about hiking?”

That got her focus. She looked at him with a shocked expression and stuttered as she started to respond. “Hiking?”

“Yeah. You know, we could walk along a nature trail and see some of the better parts of California. Fresh air, time away from the office. It’ll be like a mini-vacation in a less than exotic, but beautiful place. What do you say?”

“Uh,” she looked around the room just to avoid his eyes while she struggled to come up with an appropriate answer. She caught Winn not even trying to be subtle as he watched them, but he at least had the decency to look away once they made eye contact.

Her phone pinged and she let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry. I, um, need to check this.”

She expected it to be Alex with a DEO update of some kind, but she was thrown by the text message alert. Alex usually called. She was even more surprised to see the text was from Cat. Her eyes widened further before she even opened the text, but the shock wore off as soon as she read it because the message was so like Cat.

**“What is he saying? Is he asking you out again? Make yourself available.”**

“What is it,” Adam asked, and she saw him smiling when she looked up from her phone.

“Oh, nothing. Not an emergency,” she assured him. She pocketed her phone and looked over her shoulder at Cat, whose eyes were not surprisingly fixated sharply on her. The older blonde even raised a pushy, expectant eyebrow at her.

She turned back to Adam and smiled at him before she said, “That actually sounds…nice. Really nice.”

“Great,” he said and beamed at her.

“But,” she stopped him before he could go making any plans for two. “I think, maybe, you should ask your mom to join us.”

Adam scrunched up his face, but he laughed even though he looked uncomfortable with her suggestion. “Seriously? I thought it would just be the two of us. A weekend getaway. And Cat doesn’t even like being outdoors.”

Kara laughed. “Maybe not, but give her a chance. You’ve barely spent any time with her since you got here and the only time I think you’ve ever even called her is when I unfortunately have to run out on our dates. It’s not fair to her.”

“Fair? I’m supposed to care about what’s fair to her? She’s the one that left me, Kara.”

“I know.” She sighed and pushed her glasses further up her nose when they slid down as she briefly averted her eyes. “But…she’s trying.”

“Not very well,” he muttered.

“Because you barely give her a chance.”

“Why are you taking her side?”

“I…I’m not taking sides. I just think you need to know, and see, things from her perspective.”

“She’s been a mother to Carter long enough to know how to be a better mother to me. So why does she need a chance?”

“You’re all grown up and Carter isn’t. She hurt you by not being there. Carter isn’t hurt. Do you see how things are more complicated than you think?”

He took a deep breath and seemed to consider what she said. After a moment, he nodded. “Yeah. Okay. So, do you want to do the hike?”

“Of course. It sounds great,” she said with a smile. “You said it would be for the weekend?”

“Yeah. This weekend. We could leave Friday and come back on Monday at the latest.”

“And…where would we stay?”

“Oh, I know a guy back home that goes to this lakeside community. We can rent a cabin. There’s the lake and a pond and it’s near the mountains so there’s a lot of stuff to do.”

“Um, don’t hate me for asking this, but is there Internet? And what are my chances of decent service?”

He chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll be using it, but there’s a cell tower maybe twenty miles away at most and wifi in the main cabin at least. Some of the cabins rented out have wifi, too. So I guess if it’s something you desperately need, we can look into one that has it listed in the amenities section.”

“Great. I just…want to know that I can still get in touch with my sister while I’m away. And then the Internet is in case your mom can’t help herself and wants to work while we’re there.”

“If she even says yes.”

“Oh, come on,” she said with a faint grin and poked him in the arm. “She’ll say yes to you. You’re her son and she’ll take any chance she can to bond with you.”

“Not if it means changing out her designer clothes and numbing high heels for loungewear or athletic gear. You want her to say yes? You’ve got to ask.”

“What? Why would she say yes to me?”

“Because you can get anyone to agree to anything,” he answered with a wide and disarming smile.

She rolled her eyes, but blushed a little.

“Besides, you’ve known her longer, so you know what it’ll take to convince her to join us.”

Her phone dinged with another message. That time when she looked down, she wasn’t at all shocked to see it was from Cat.

**“What on Earth could you be talking about for this long without going somewhere private? He won’t stick around if you won’t even have a quick lunch with him somewhere.”**

She sighed, and apparently that was a dead giveaway to who sent her the text.

“Is that Cat?”

She nodded and paused before she looked up at Adam.

He shook his head and lightly laughed. “You wanted to invite her so I’m letting you invite her,” he smirked and then pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. “Let me know what she says.”

“Wait, you’re not staying for lunch,” she asked with a furrowed brow. She must have looked like a wounded puppy.

“You’re not the only one that gets to run out on our plans,” he said with a slightly smug smile. Before he left, he thankfully gave her a reason for his soon-to-be absence. “I’m going to call about a cabin. We’ll need a place to stay whether or not Cat agrees to go and summer is a popular time of year for the area, so we’re better off renting as soon as possible. I already looked into a few of them that haven’t been snatched up yet. I’ve just got to close the deal on one of them.”

“Okay. Just make sure there’s enough room for—”  

“For Cat. I know. Text me when you have an answer.”

She nodded and watched him leave. She chanced a look at James and Winn who both looked a little pleased Adam was gone, but avoided catching her eyes. They were guilty for not liking who she was with because it wasn’t either one of them she’d chosen and they knew it. Kara knew it. Adam suspected it, but never asked her or the other guys for confirmation. And even Cat mentioned it on occasion. Most of the time she said they were acting like spoiled children and most of the time Kara had to agree.

As if the woman’s ears were burning, Kara’s phone received another text from her suddenly suffocating boss. She groaned and slipped her phone into her dress pocket before even reading the message and decided to deal with Cat sooner rather than later, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

“You pushed him away,” Cat said without looking up as soon as she stepped into the office. “You bail on him almost every time he takes you out and now you’ve made _him_ leave.”

She sighed. “It’s not what you think, Miss Grant.”

“Oh, really? And how is it? What exactly happened that made him walk out before he even got to enjoy the food he bought for you two?”

“He’s off making plans for this weekend.”

“Plans,” Cat asked with a curious expression, her brow raised. “Weekend plans?”

“Yes.”

“You’re…going away for the weekend.”

Kara was sure that was supposed to be a question, but Cat looked a little pale and distracted so it came out like a statement. “Yes. We’re going hiking.”

Cat’s face immediately scrunched up with disgust and judgment. “You’re going to spend an entire weekend _outside_?”

“We both like to get out and explore so that’s what we’re doing. And…we hoped you would, too,” she carefully mentioned.

“Me,” Cat said and motioned at herself with disbelief.  “Did Adam ask for me to come with you or are you trying to ruin whatever my son is trying to… _do_ with you this weekend?”

Then _Kara’s_ face scrunched up in disgust. “We’re not- We don’t- We’re supposed to talk about that before we do anything and we haven’t talked about it,” she explained. Not that it was any of Cat’s business, even if it did involve the woman’s oldest son.

“You’re supposed to _talk_ about it? Let me guess, that was _your_ request.”

“That’s a little personal, but yes. Adam agreed to it.”

“Of course he did. He’s sweet. He’s not going to tell you how ridiculous that notion is because he’s a gentleman.”

She forced down her anger and bit back every fiery reply that was instantly on the tip of her tongue, because she believed talking about it before either of them tried to take things to the next level between them was important.

“You don’t have to like it or understand my reason for wanting to do things that way, but you should at least respect my decision instead of bashing it. Adam respects it and that’s what really matters since I’m dating _him_ , not you.”

Cat blinks and rears back a little in her chair. Kara doesn’t wait for her to respond before she continues with her offer.

“Do you want to spend more time with Adam or not? Because I think this weekend would be a great way to get to know him better. You’ll be doing something he likes to do and you’ll be away from work so your attention can be on him.”

“But his attention will be on you.”

“I can help with that if I need to, but…I still think it would be better for you to show up at the very least. Let him know you’re here for him.”

“I am here for him,” she argued before her expression turned to worry. “He doesn’t think I’m here for him?”

“Words can be meaningless. Actions speak louder and can’t be taken back. Come with us and then he won’t have any reason to doubt you.”

She stood there in front of Cat’s desk with her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. She relaxed them and then squeezed again to keep herself calm and forget Cat ever asked about her sex life with Adam. Really just her sex life in general. Cat didn’t need to know why Kara wanted to wait and she didn’t need to know or understand why she wanted to talk about it with her partner, whoever that ended up being, before anything happened between the two of them. She instead focused on convincing Cat to agree to the trip, because no matter what was said or done she still cared about her boss. She still wanted to help in whatever way she could to bring Cat closer to her son.

“I’m sorry for questioning your decision,” Cat said calmly after a moment. “And it really is none of my business.”

“Thank you,” she replied, a little surprised Cat even bothered to apologize. She expected the other woman to move past it, even if she was actually apologetic for what she said. Cat Grant hardly ever said she was sorry.

“I know the offer wasn’t extended to Carter, but would it be okay if I take him with me? I’d much rather have a better excuse to leave you two alone than just vacating the room like a depressing third wheel,” Cat suggested. “And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for Carter to get the chance to know his big brother either.”

Kara’s eyes lit up and she smiled brightly as she said, “Yes, I think that’s a great idea. It’ll be like a family vacation.”

Cat glared at her. “As long as you’re on this trip, it’s not quite a family affair unless my son intends to put a ring on your finger.”

Kara sighed, but her smile never waned. She left Cat’s office feeling good about the plan. In a few days, Cat would be unburdened by work and fully able to bond with both of her sons. And Kara would be able to witness, and be a part of, a family reunion.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure you’ve thought this through,” Alex asked and hovered around her as she packed for the trip.

“I’m only going to be gone for a few days,” Kara explained. “And I’ll have my phone with me the entire time. Call if you need me. There’s also wifi, so you can email me if I don’t have service.”

“What about the people of National City, Kara? What are they supposed to do without Supergirl?”

“Like I said, I’m just a phone call away. And it’s possible that Supergirl might be needed where I’m going.”

“You’re spreading yourself too thin again,” Alex insisted. “It’s been hard enough to keep your identity a secret here even before you started dating Adam, and now you want to be alone with him and his entire family in another city? How are you going to keep them from seeing you change out of your glasses and spring into action in your supersuit?”

“Because I’ve been extra careful since dating Adam. You know I was afraid I couldn’t be with him and be Supergirl, but I found a way.”

“Yeah, by lying to him. Kara, you hate lying to people. And you’re not very good at it. The last time you had to cover up your almost-exposure, you needed J’on to do it.”

She groaned. “Can’t I just pretend to be normal? For seventy-two hours at the very least?”

“You’ve never been normal,” Alex said. “And _you’re_ the one that put on the suit. You chose this life and you have to deal with the consequences and limitations of it.”

 “Thanks for the lecture, but I deserve to at least find out if I can do this. If I get into any trouble, I’ll call you and I’ll come back. Okay?”

Alex sighed. “J’on’s not going to like this.”

Kara pouted with wide eyes and a pleading expression as she waited to hear whether or not Alex would get on board with her plan.

“Fine,” her sister conceded. Kara beamed and went in to hug Alex, but the brunette held up a hand and continued. “But the second there’s a problem, you call and get yourself out of there. Do you understand?”

She nodded and finally closed the distance between them for that hug. She squeezed a little tighter than she normally would and heard Alex grunt, most likely in pain, before she pulled back. “Thank you. I owe you one.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just try not to screw this up.”

She frowned and felt hurt by the lack of confidence. Alex seemed to pick up on that immediately.

“I didn’t mean to sound cynical. Sorry. I just…want you to be careful. Safe. You know I worry about you.”

“I do. It’s both a redeeming quality of yours and an annoying one.”

“Annoying?”

Kara flashed her a smile and tilted her head to the point that it almost rested on her shoulder before she added, “Depends on the situation.”

“Mhmm,” Alex hummed disbelievingly with an arched brow.

“I still love you either way, annoying or not.”

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes before she grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at her head. Kara’s hands were full so she didn’t have the desire to drop everything just to catch the pillow. She allowed it to smack her in the back of the head and mess up her hair, and she laughed as she stuffed her things into her suitcase.

She brushed her hair out of her face and finished packing in comfortable silence while Alex helped herself to leftover takeout in the fridge. When she had everything she needed, ready to go for the trip, she plopped down on the love seat across from her sister and ate with her.

“I’ll wait until you’re gone before telling J’on,” Alex told her between bites.

“Thanks.”

Alex sipped her beer and took a moment before she finally said something that seemed to be on her mind for a while. “I want you to be happy. Always. I just hope you can pull this off. And it’s not…it’s not that I don’t think you can, it’s just that I don’t want you have to find out if you _can’t_. Does that make sense?”

She nodded, serious and focused. “I’m not mad. I get it. But the more we worry about this, the more likely I am to panic about something and get caught. I’m sure I’ll be fine. And I’ll have you to talk me through any doubts, even if they have nothing to do with being discovered.”

“You do,” Alex confirmed with a smile. She lifted her beer bottle from where she held it loosely above her lap and said, “Cheers.”

She reached forward and grabbed her glass of iced tea off the coffee table between them. She leaned toward Alex and they clinked their drinks together with hopeful smiles.

After they each took a sip, Alex lowered her beer again and said, “Let’s hope this works out.”

* * *

When she walked into Cat’s office the next day, she didn’t expect the woman to be a wreck. Immediately she noticed things were not as she expected. Cat was jittery. She looked about as nervous as she did when she first met Adam after so many years of separation.

“U-um, Miss Grant? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, honestly, Kiera. Are you going to call me that all weekend? Don’t you think it’s a little strange to be calling your boyfriend’s mother by her last name?”

She cleared her throat with a fake smile before she said, “Not when she’s my boss, and we’re still at work.”

“Well, consider using my first name once we leave the city.”

“Oh-kay,” she said slowly as she tried to remain calm. She was going to be as accommodating as possible. So if Cat wanted her to call her by her first name away from the office, she would. “Uh, are you okay _right now_?”

“I’m fine,” the other woman said, but it was obvious she wasn’t.

“How come I don’t believe you?”

Cat sighed heavily and loudly. “I don’t know,” the older blonde snapped. “I don’t care either. I’m _fine_.”

“If…you’re concerned about how to talk to Adam or how to—”

“I don’t need you to worry about me. Focus on your boyfriend before he loses interest. No one wants a girlfriend that pays more attention to his mother’s moods than his own thoughts and feelings, especially in Adam’s case.”

“Right,” she replied. Her smile faded and she started to bounce her knee where she stood. She clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides as well and took a deep breath before she ran through the itinerary for the day with Cat. “So, Adam said he can meet us at your place after we pick up Carter from school. He said he’s getting snacks for the road and a few other things that the cabin might not have.”

“Cabin? We’re staying in a cabin?”

“Um, yeah,” Kara answered with a frown. “Where did you expect us to be staying? We’ll be near the mountains.”

“I- I just thought there would be a hotel or a resort of some kind. I didn’t think we’d be _camping_.” Cat said the word with such disdain.

“You’ve clearly never been camping if you think staying somewhere with heating and cooling and a _door_ is camping.”

“Of course I’ve never been camping,” Cat erratically argued and gestured wildly with her hands. “You’ve met my mother. You’ve seen me. We’re not the big outdoorsy type.”

“Let me be the first to tell you, camping requires sleeping bags. Sometimes people use tents for shelter and others like to sleep under the stars. Either way, there’s gonna be a roof over your head and a way to cook breakfast on a stove, not a fire pit, every morning. It’ll be just like you’re used to here. It’s like renting a beach house for the weekend, except we won’t be at the beach.”

“Oh my god. Renting a house. From strangers?”

“Yes,” she chuckled, amused by Cat’s sudden understanding and continued apprehension. “Someone has to own the property for it to be available to rent.”

“Why didn’t you explain this to me sooner,” Cat asked as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. Kara watched her tap the screen a few times before she brought the phone to her ear. A moment later, Cat’s conversation was directed at her phone. “Lynn, I need you to do me a last minute favor.”

Before Kara could find out what Cat needed last minute, Cat furrowed her brow and shooed her away as she said, “Go wait in the car out front.” The next part of the conversation was said into the phone again as Kara headed out of the office. “Yes, I need—”

She didn’t hear the rest of what Cat had to say. She did what Cat asked and went down to the car. She smiled and said hi to the driver before she slipped inside. He closed the door behind her when she was safely in the car, and she spent the better part of the next several minutes texting Alex and playing a couple of quick games on her phone.

When Cat finally joined her, things started to move a little quicker. The driver didn’t hesitate to head to the school and Cat didn’t hesitate to shuck her heels.

“Why do you bother taking those off if you’re just going to put them back on when we get to the school?”

“You try wearing these for eight hours a day or more and then we’ll talk,” Cat replied.

“Then why put them back on at all? Change into flats or something.”

“It’s called keeping up appearances, Kiera.”

She shook her head with a small smile on her face. “If I’m going to call you by your first name, you should probably call me by my _real_ name. Don’t you think it’s a little strange to call your son’s girlfriend by the wrong name? _Cat_?”

She purposely put emphasis on the woman’s name and smirked with delight when she saw her boss turn and glare at her.

When they arrived at Carter’s school after almost ten minutes, the heels went back on and the glare was replaced by that bright and happy smile Kara had quickly noticed was reserved for her sons, regardless of how they felt about her. Unconditional love. There was so much warmth and vibrancy in her expression and Kara couldn’t help but smile as well, her eyes focused on Cat just a little too long before her attention was drawn to an excited Carter.

“Kara,” he called out and jogged up to her before he crushed her in a strong hug for a boy his age with little muscle mass.

She laughed and hugged him back. “Hey, Carter. Have you missed me since the last time we hung out?”

“Definitely,” he replied as he pulled away and looked up at her before he finally saw Cat. “Hi, Mom.”

“What, no hug for me?”

“It’s cool when I hug a cute older girl. It’s sad when I hug my mom.”

Kara laughed again and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Should we go? I’m sure Adam’s already at the house.” When she looked away from Carter, she finally looked at Cat for the first time since the woman got into town car. The other woman looked stunned, but also a little hurt. Her hazel eyes were slightly wide and filled with unspoken emotion Kara had never seen in Cat’s expression until that moment.

She rolled her lips together and averted her gaze when Cat made eye contact. She turned back to Carter and draped an arm around his shoulder before they walked side by side to the car. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Cat followed. When Kara saw that she was only a few steps behind them, she flashed a smile at the other woman with the hope that Cat would be cheered her up from whatever had further soured her mood.

* * *

They pulled up in front of Cat’s place to see Adam where he leaned against the front of an older model SUV. It was silver and extremely reflective under the summer sun. When the light hit it just right, she has to squint her eyes in order to not be temporarily blinded.

Carter was the first to leave the town car. He didn’t rush to Adam like he had earlier rushed to her, but he seemed almost as excited.

“Is this your car,” Carter asked as he clutched the straps of his backpack and let his eyes roam the length of the SUV from the hood to the bumper.

“Yep,” Adam answered with a chuckle. “You like it?”

“Yeah. I’m used to the fancy cars my mom takes around everywhere. This one looks lived in. Comfortable. That makes sense, right?”

“It does,” Adam nodded. “You know, if your stuff is all packed up inside somewhere, I can grab it for you if you want to climb in and take a better look in here.”

Adam opened the back door and Carter immediately shrugged out of his backpack.

“Cool,” Carter said before he tossed his bag across the backseat and pulled himself up and into the SUV by the built-in bar above the interior of the door to help people into the vehicle.

“Is your stuff in your room,” Adam asked.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Carter replied as he settled into the cushions.

Kara knew Cat’s tastes. The town cars always had leather interior. She knew exactly what Carter’s fascination with a comfortable car was. It felt homey. It felt like it wasn’t paid for hourly just to get from one place to the other and returned when the errands were completed. The SUV was a way to get from place to place, but it was also a piece of the owner. The car had personality, a life. It did more than transport people, it allowed for adventures or a place to take shelter in a bad situation.

It sounded crazy, but that feeling was personal to Kara. Just as that particular SUV was personal to Adam.

“Hey,” she greeted as she approached him. Cat wasn’t far behind.

“Hey.” He smiled back at her and glanced at Cat before he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

He rarely did that since their first awkward hug and almost kiss, but he used the chaste display of affection if Cat was nearby when he wanted to let her know he was thinking about her. It was sweet and it also didn’t flaunt anything in front of Cat that would either make her extremely happy or make her cringe.

“Are we driving there,” Cat asked. “In that?”

“Uh, yeah,” Adam slowly replied as he looked from Kara to Cat and behind him at Carter and the SUV. “I hope it’s not a problem.”

Cat nervously looked from Adam to Kara and back again before she quickly replied, “Oh, no. No, no. Of course it’s not a problem. I was just curious. There are a lot of things that haven’t been explained to me and I’m not really a fan of surprises or change.”

“Tell me about it,” Adam muttered, but both Cat and Kara heard him. He cleared his throat and looked at least partly sorry, but he didn’t actually apologize.

Kara’s first thought—that she didn’t dare speak out loud—was that Adam might not have been raised by Cat, but he was still so much like her.

“I’ll get Carter’s stuff,” Adam said as he pointed over his shoulder at the house. “Which one is his room?”

“Third door on the right past the kitchen,” Cat answered. “I can show—”

“That’s okay,” he cut Cat off before she could finish extending her offer. “I got it.”

Kara sighed and looked down at the ground as she pushed a pebble with her toe.

Cat took a deep breath in and slowly, loudly exhaled like she needed to release a lot of built up tension. That was probably true, especially if Kara was also already tense before they even piled into the SUV.

“That went well,” Cat sarcastically said and pointedly looked at her.

“Give him time.”

“It’s been months and I still haven’t managed to get him to smile at me. He’ll probably never call me Mom and he’ll never trust me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” Cat insisted, her eyes steeled off from emotion. The older blonde almost looked numb to the situation, like she’d already accepted defeat.

“You have to give him a chance. Just like he has to give you one.”

“Well, he’s not. If he doesn’t give me a chance, how am I supposed to get through to him?”

“By not giving up. You wouldn’t give up on Carter.”

“That’s…different.” Cat’s pause made it hard for Kara to believe Cat had even convinced herself of that fact. If Cat didn’t even think what she said was true, how did she expect anyone else to believe it?

“Don’t push. Let him come to you. You’re so worried about him leaving. He’s even more scared that you’re just going to take off again. So give him time and show him you’re not going anywhere.”

Cat avoided her eyes and looked ahead with a tense jaw. “I should get my things,” is all the woman said before she made her way into the house.

Kara closed her eyes and tipped her head back. When she opened her eyes, she stared up at the mostly clear sky. It was blue as she looked at it then, but it was soon to be pink and orange in a couple hours when the sun set. The bad thing about leaving later in the day was that everyone would be cranky on an extended drive toward the mountains after a long day, and even longer week. The good thing about it was that everyone would be too tired to fight once they reached their destination.

“If you’re already doubting your plan, why are we even doing this,” Carter asked.

She refocused her attention on him where he remained in the SUV, the door to the backseat still open. He wasn’t moody or upset. He was only curious. So she gave him the only answer she had to give him.

“It’s worth it.”

“How do you know?”

She smiled and walked up to him until she was close enough to lean on the side of the car beside him. “Because family always is.”


	3. Chapter 3

Adam had tossed her a bag of Twizzlers almost as soon as they made it out on the 101. She had shared them with Carter and the bag was gone within the hour. She shared a lot of her snacks with him, even when he hadn’t asked, and halfway through their trip, there wasn’t much left for them to eat. Thankfully, they were stuffed with sweets and didn’t crave anymore sugar. But they did, unfortunately, have growling stomachs that demanded real food.

“Any suggestions for dinner,” Adam asked when he looked in the rear view mirror and spotted her and Carter squirm with discomfort.

“Food,” she and Carter groaned in sync as they held their stomachs. They looked at each other and laughed when they realized how in sync they were.

Adam smiled at the two of them and Cat craned her neck as she looked over her shoulder to stare at them. Her lips were parted and her eyes were slightly wide. She didn’t seem to have expected their reaction. Truthfully, Kara and Carter hadn’t expected it either.

But Cat had an interesting look on her face, one that reminded Kara of what happened earlier when they picked Carter up from school. In the car, however, Cat didn’t look hurt. Her eyes were soft, her expression curious and open.

Within fifteen minutes, Adam found a restaurant Cat didn’t think was an “outrageous place to even step inside let alone eat in” and the four of them chambered out of the SUV with aching muscles. Kara stretched out like the other three did once they were able to release the tension that came with staying cramped inside the SUV for hours without reprieve, but she didn’t feel as knotted up as Cat and Carter. When she checked on Adam, who also worked out a few kinks, she realized he didn’t struggle as much with the confined space either.

He noticed her looking and they smiled at each other before Carter tugged on her arm and pulled her toward the entrance.

“Come on. I’m starving. And so is my mom. You know how she gets when she hasn’t eaten,” Carter said.

“Oh, you mean how she _normally_ is,” she teased as she locked eyes with Cat on her way past the woman.

Carter and Adam chuckled, but Cat was not at all amused. The older blonde stared her down until Kara had to face forward and watch where she walked for fear of tripping on Carter’s heels as he continued to drag her along with him.

Inside, the place was packed. When Kara went up to the hostess and asked for a table, the other woman immediately pushed a device in her hand that would light up when their table was ready, which didn’t happen for what felt like a lifetime.

They sat in a booth in the waiting area near the door for several minutes before Cat finally broke and stormed over to the bar.

“I need a drink,” was the woman’s only comment before she disappeared in the crowd.

That left Kara with Adam and Carter. She sat between the two of them with her hand in Adam’s and Carter’s hands on her phone. She had let him have it after twenty minutes of waiting when he’d asked if he could see it. She occasionally looked over to see what Carter found on her phone, hopeful that he was old enough to value privacy and stay clear from her messages. If he looked at her texts, there were quite possibly some between her and Alex that mentioned “super” stuff, including the DEO. And then there were her texts to Adam. They weren’t gross or scarring in any way, but some were cutesy and some were about Cat. The last thing she wanted was for Carter to see how his older brother really felt about their mother—which wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t usually nice either—when the three of them were just getting to know each other. So far she’d only seen him look through her music and read a few online articles, mostly ones about Supergirl. That wasn’t much of a shock. Carter’s crush on her superhero alter-ego was apparently still strong, if not stronger than the first time he mentioned it when she’d been tasked to babysit him at the office. The same time she almost got him killed in a train explosion because she couldn’t be in two places at once.  

“Anything interesting happening lately,” she asked him with a bright smile.

Carter shrugged and didn’t look up when he replied, “Everything’s been quiet back home. I’ve been reading all the different reports on Supergirl’s latest heroic act.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve already read my mom’s articles. Twice. And I know I should look at more than just one person’s perspective if I want to form my own well-rounded opinion on something. Plus, my mom is a little biased when it comes to Supergirl. She likes her.”

“Really,” Adam asked.

Kara turned to see the disbelief on Adam’s face.

Adam leaned forward, slightly over her, to get closer to Carter before he added, “I’ve seen a few things she’s written about Supergirl. She’s kind of harsh.”

Kara shook her head and explained, “She pushes people she cares about. She mostly pushes them _away_ , but she pushes. She wants better for the people closest to her.”

“And she’s close to Supergirl,” Adam asked with a raised brow.

“Well, maybe not close. But she does hold Supergirl to a higher standard than the IT guy at work,” she replied.

“Or her assistant,” Adam said with a smirk.

“Actually, she kind of likes Kara, too,” Carter said, his eyes still focused on Kara’s phone.

“Then why does she always call her—”

“Kiera!”

“See,” Adam said and pointed at Cat as Carter, and almost everyone else in the restaurant, looked up at the woman.

“Our table’s ready,” Cat said as she approached. She motioned to the device in Kara’s hand and sure enough, it was flashing red and vibrating.

“Oh,” was all she could think to say before she nervously laughed and stood up. She smoothed out her pants, which had started to crease from sitting so long, but didn’t move forward.

“Calm down,” Adam directed his words at Cat with an unkind sort of grin. “We weren’t ignoring it. It _just_ happened.”

Cat took a deep breath and huffed as she seemingly tried not to lose her temper. She held a drink in one hand and her purse was balanced on her forearm as she limply held her free hand up at chest level. She looked every bit like the snobbish, high class woman she typically was, and it was a little too much in the nice, but not at all fancy, restaurant.

Kara wasn’t exactly embarrassed herself. She was used to Cat’s behavior. She was, however, embarrassed for Cat. Carter also seemed immune to her antics, but he did look a little uncomfortable that their group still held a lot of patrons’ interest.

She cleared her throat and nudged Carter to stand up. He handed back her phone and she released Adam’s hand to take it before the three of them joined Cat near the hostess, who then showed them to their table.

By the time their food was set in front of them, Cat was on her second tumbler of bourbon. It was a little unsettling, but Kara made a deal with herself that she wouldn’t say anything about it unless Cat ordered a third before they left. Thankfully she seemed to take more time drinking her second glass than she had her first. She didn’t know if that had something to do with Carter’s presence, but she was glad Cat didn’t seem to be self-sabotaging by drinking too much too soon on their trip.

“So, Carter,” Adam said as he cut into his meat. “What’s going on at school? I hear you’re kind of a genius.”

“I’m smart. I’m not a genius,” Carter replied.

Adam nodded and laughed. “Okay. Smart. Not a genius. Got it. What’s your favorite subject?”

“I guess science. But I’m more into the atmosphere and stars. Otherwise it’s English. And even then I like creative writing more than the actual English class.”

“That’s a lot more favorites than I had in school,” Adam confessed.

“What did you like,” Carter asked, only mildly interested in the answer.

Adam chucked and answered, “Girls. That was about it. Well, girls and maybe some sports.”

“Neither of those is a school subject,” Carter pointed out.

“Exactly,” Adam said with a grin and nudged Carter with an elbow to the boy’s arm.

“Sounds like you were either a lonely boy pining for girls in the corner or you were a huge player,” Kara commented with a smirk.

“Some girls didn’t give me the time of day, but the ones that did were more memorable.”

Adam gave her a look that Kara took to mean he was also talking about her in that moment and not just girls from his past. She blushed a little with the sheer force of her wide smile.

She was quickly pulled out of the moment, however, when she detected a small noise emitted into a drink across the table. Her super-hearing apparently caught Cat sounding less than ecstatic about her and Adam’s interaction. That theory was tested and confirmed when Kara watched Cat take a large gulp of her drink and clear her throat when the older blonde realized she had Kara’s attention.

Cat only spared her a glance before she redirected her focus to Adam. “I thought you were getting a Masters at Cornell? Obviously you had to be interested in something at school to make it that far into your education.”

Adam’s smile faded before he looked at Cat. He paused for a moment and swallowed before he briefly looked down at the table and then looked at Carter when he replied. “Eventually I got serious about what I wanted to do with my life, but at your age I wasn’t as focused or determined. I was kind of lost and all over the place.” Then, as if the previous words and the ones soon to follow were meant to hurt her, he looked at Cat and added, “But I’m not in school anymore. I gave up that ambition. I don’t want to be what I thought I did when I applied for the program.”

“So what do you do now,” Carter asked. Kara wasn’t sure whether or not he was aware of the tension that time, but either way he blew right past it.

“I work. I like my job and I’m okay with not getting my Masters. Some people might not feel the same way,” he said with a not entirely subtle side-glance to Cat. “But I’m okay with it and it’s _my_ life.”

Kara pursed her lips and kicked his leg under the table, which would have been easier if they weren’t sitting on the same side of the table, but her added—but not significantly so—strength got the message across.

Adam hissed in pain, his teeth gritted as he reached down to touch the bruise that was most likely already forming on the side of his shin. He turned to her and flashed a smile that barely concealed he wasn’t happy to have been injured.

“Anyway,” Adam said before he turned back to Carter again and sat up straight. “Do what makes you happy. Don’t do it because you think it’s what you _should_ do or what someone else would love to _see_ you do. Find your passion and stick with it.”

“But for now, stay in school,” Kara added. “And don’t do drugs.”

She chuckled and Carter joined in. Adam smiled, but when she looked at him he didn’t appear like someone who was in on the joke.

Cat took another sip of her drink and then set it on the table, her eyes averted the entire time. The other woman shifted in the booth and adjusted her clothes as she slipped out and stood up. “Excuse me,” she quietly said before she shuffled away.

Kara watched with concern as Cat disappeared into the restroom. She considered following after her, but wasn’t sure her company was what Cat needed. It most likely wasn’t what she wanted. Cat liked to deal with her problems in private, but maybe it was something else Kara could and should help with.

“You want to go after her, don’t you,” Adam leaned into her side and asked.

She winced and turned to him with a guilty look on her face. “Is that bad? I just…want everyone to have a good time. And she doesn’t seem to be enjoying this so far.”

“She’s a big girl, Kara.”

“I know, but…” She looked off in the direction Cat went and left her sentence unfinished.

“It’s fine.”

Her attention whipped back to Adam with slightly wide eyes and parted lips. “Really? Are you sure? Because—”

“Really,” he confirmed with a smile and a chuckle. “Go. Carter and I will be fine.”

She smiled back and excused herself before she headed toward the restroom. Her only thought as she approached the door was that she hoped she wouldn’t catch Cat at a bad time. She really didn’t want the woman to yell at her for intruding on her while she actually used the restroom, unnecessarily worrying about the older woman.

When she pushed open the door, she wasn’t exactly relieved to see Cat at the sink with her eyes cast down at the edge of the counter where she gripped tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Cat didn’t seem to notice her at first, too focused on her hands to even look up, but she heard the quick and quiet sound Kara made when the younger woman struggled to speak.

Cat scoffed and pushed away from the sink. “I don’t need to be looked after, so if you came here to check on me you really shouldn’t have.”

Kara took a moment to evaluate the situation, the new defenses Cat put up as soon as the woman realized she wasn’t alone. Time for the tough love approach.

“Too bad,” Kara said and held her ground with a firm gaze and slightly raised chin.

Cat cocked her head to the side and sized Kara up, something she normally did when she was surprised yet impressed with how Kara held herself.

“Something’s bothering you,” Kara continued. “You don’t have to tell me, but it might be good to talk about it.”

Cat heavily sighed and shook her head before she looked away. When she caught her reflection in the mirror, she turned back to face the sink and started to fix her hair as she gave her reply. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t _need_ to talk about it. But even if I did, I wouldn’t share my problems with you.”

“Why not? You’ve opened up to me before, and I thought- You said you wanted things to change between us.”

“Yes, Kiera. Things should change between us. You should pay less attention to me, especially outside of work. Now go.” When Kara didn’t move, Cat rolled her eyes and dismissively said, “Go. Go.”

Kara sighed and gave Cat the distance the other woman seemed to want. She made her way back out to the table and smiled like everything was fine. Neither Carter nor Adam seemed to notice the difference. When Cat joined them at the table again a few minutes later, the four of them went back to an awkward dinner filled with mostly silence before they continued the rest of their drive to the cabin.

* * *

It was dark when they finally pulled up to a decent sized house with red, brown, and tan colored bricks and a large bay window in the front. The headlights only did so much to catch the beauty of it with a brief glimpse before they parked and cut the engine. When they stepped out of the SUV, Kara immediately felt and heard the shuffle of their shoes against a dirt path.

“It’s not as rough and rustic as it seems,” Adam assured them with a smile before he motioned for them to follow him.

Carter went along with it without question, but Cat continued to look around skeptically.

“Come on,” Kara gently nudged her with an elbow to the woman’s arm. “I’m sure inside will be more comfortable for you than it is out here.”

Cat didn’t huff that time and if she rolled her eyes, Kara couldn’t tell in the faint light provided by the neighbors’ cabin across the lake. Thankfully, the other woman quietly made her way toward the concrete walkway up to the cabin. She took a few hurried steps and pulled out in front of Kara and made it inside first.

Kara laughed to herself at how petty Cat acted and followed after her into the warm foyer. The air conditioning kicked on a few seconds after she stepped over the threshold, and Adam reappeared from somewhere further inside the cabin as Cat and Carter looked around the main areas.

The nearby areas of the cabin were lit, but the overheads were dim. It shed enough light on the walls and floors so they could see where they walked, but it wasn’t bright or blinding.

“The guy I talked to on the phone said they keep the air off when no one’s renting the place,” Adam said as he stopped in the lounge room to the left of the entryway. “It lowers their electricity bills.”

“Is that also why it’s so dark in here,” Cat asked as she continued to look around with a displeased expression on her face that made it seem like she was stuck in some wet cave or sewage system.

“No, it’s…like mood lighting? But it’s not to set a mood, it’s supposed to be easier on the eyes late at night,” Adam explained. “It’s a convenience feature.”

“A well-thought out one,” Kara noted with a smile as she looked around again and better appreciated the lighting.

Cat just hummed and moved toward the bedrooms near the back of the cabin, past the kitchen and lounge room.

Kara listened and watched as Carter touched the furniture and took everything in with amazement and curiosity. He looked out the window at the front of the cabin and stared at the lake as it flowed and rippled under the neighboring cabin’s floodlights across the water.

“This is so cool,” Carter said and touched a hand to one of the three windows at the front of the room.

Cat walked back out into the hall and loudly cleared her throat before she asked, “Why are there only three rooms?”

“Oh, sorry. It was the best I could last minute and I didn’t expect…Carter to be invited,” Adam said. “Someone can double up or I’ll just take the couch.”

“No, that’s alright. I’ll take the couch,” Cat offered with a careless wave of her hand, like it was really no trouble at all for her to make that kind of sacrifice.

“Are you sure? I could—”

Adam didn’t get to finish before Cat explained, “You were the one that planned this trip and Carter and I weren’t originally part of that plan. You invited me and I invited Carter, so…I’ll take the couch.”

Carter shrugged and seemed to accept that, but Kara was floored by that reaction. Adam seemed surprised as well, but after a moment he seemed to think nothing of it as he agreed to the established sleeping arrangements.

“I think there are some blankets and pillows in the linen closet,” Adam said and pointed to a narrow, closed door in the hallway behind Cat.

“No need,” Cat said. “I brought my own. I just have to bring them in from the car.”

“You…brought your own pillow,” Adam asked.

“Well, I have an entire bedspread, but since I’ll be on the couch, I’ll only need to use a blanket and pillow.”

“That’s why you called Lynn from the office when I told you about the trip,” Kara spoke up. All eyes were on her before she continued. “She’s one of your shoppers. You had her buy bedsheets for you?”

“Yes, _Kiera_ , I did.”

“Of course,” she said with a chuckle. She shook her head before she added, “You’re Cat Grant.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean,” Cat asked with a bit of a snarl.

“Nothing. I just…don’t know why I’m surprised,” she answered with a smile. She really didn’t mean any harm by her comment. It was amusing to her that Cat thought she needed to bring her own sheets.

“I don’t know how well they take care of these cabins,” Cat started to explain herself. “And I don’t find it relaxing or enjoyable to sleep in someone else’s bed if you don’t know where the other person’s been.”

She nodded and tried her best to hide her growing smile as she ducked her head and covered her mouth with her hand.

“It’s late,” Adam said, and Kara could hear the smile in his voice before she looked up a few seconds later. “We should get some rest. We’ve only got a limited time here and I want to get a jump start on tomorrow’s activities bright and early.”

“Can I pick which room I get,” Carter asked.

“Of course,” Adam replied.

Carter then looked at her like he needed her permission as well before he went ahead with it. She nodded with a completely different kind of smile on her face, one that wasn’t full of laughter but of warmth.

“Thanks,” Carter said before he bolted toward the rooms and looked inside each one to make an informed decision.

Kara didn’t even notice how much of her attention was focused on Carter until Adam pointed it out.

“You’re happy when he’s happy…aren’t you,” Adam asked as he took a few steps toward her. 

She looked away from the rooms to acknowledge Adam as she replied, “Who wouldn’t? He’s kind of amazing.”

“Yeah,” Adam agreed with a nod and a small smile. “I really hope this trip can bring us closer. He seems like a good kid.”

“Well, he’s not just a good kid. He’s your brother,” Kara reminded him.

“I’m aware of that,” Adam lightly laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I just thought maybe you’d be, I don’t know, more proud of him or something because he’s your family.”

“I don’t know him like you do. Not yet. So…maybe my opinion of him is less that what you were expecting, but I’m sure I’ll grow to love him. In time.”

He smiled as he talked to her about Carter, but it seemed more placating than genuine. That alone was enough to make her frown, but the way he spoke about building a relationship with his own brother was concerning.

“I don’t…I don’t want you to get to know him so you can meet my expectations. You know that, right?”

“Yes. Of course I know that, Kara,” he said, but she didn’t feel it. She couldn’t make herself believe it.

She faked a smile before she said, “You know, he’s not my family, but it only took a few minutes to like him.”

“I never said I didn’t like him. I _do_ like him. I just need to know him more before I start saying that I love him. Does that make sense?”

It didn’t, not to her, but she responded with a nod and another forced smile as she answered, “Yeah. And I’m sure this weekend will be good for the two of you.”

Adam smiled at her again, bigger than the last time just a moment before he leaned in and chastely kissed her.

When they separated, they both turned and noticed Cat was still in the room and had her eyes set on them. She looked a little off, like she’d zoned out at some point with a hand around her necklace and her lips slightly parted like she was either shocked or in disbelief.

Cat blinked a few times and shook her head before she cleared her throat and said, “Sorry. That was private. I’ll just…go get my things.”

As awkward as ever when Cat had to leave a room to give them space, the other woman turned and made her way out to the SUV.

“I’ll let you have second pick for the rooms,” Adam offered when Cat stepped outside.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m not picky. Whatever one you take, I’ll be fine with the one that’s left.”

“You sure?”

“Mhmm,” she smiled, a little less fake but still not one hundred percent happy with the way the night came to an end.

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Adam headed down the hall and disappeared into a room, but Kara stayed in place and watched Cat start to pull bags out of the trunk. She stood by and looked on for only a few more seconds before she decided to go out and help the other woman.

Outside, the night air was a little chilly, but there was only a minimal breeze. She didn’t have to bundle up or pull her cardigan around herself tighter and she doubted that even the tiny woman in front of her wouldn’t freeze while she grabbed her luggage.

“Let me give you a hand with that,” she said as she reached out to grab the suitcase Cat struggled to tug out of the trunk.

“I don’t need your help, nor do I want it.”

Cat pulled a little harder on the bag and it caught on the edge of the trunk. Off balance from her effort, Cat fell back and let go of the bag before she almost hit the ground.

 _Almost_ because Kara grabbed her hands at the last second and pulled her forward. Unfortunately, pulling forward only led to Cat springing up and away from the ground as she headed in Kara’s direction. Before either of them knew it, Kara hugged Cat against her with a hand nearly in Cat’s hair and the other hand dangerously low on the other woman’s back.

“Let go of me,” Cat loudly demanded and pushed against her shoulders in an attempt to free herself from Kara’s hold.

Kara barely felt the pressure of Cat’s hands on her, so she didn’t immediately release the older blonde. When Cat grunted and squirmed within her embrace, Kara finally let her go and stared wide-eyed at Cat.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to fall. You could’ve been hurt.”

Cat huffed and ran her hands down over her outfit as if to smooth out the creases. “If you’re looking for a thank you, you won’t get one.”

“Bu- I saved you from—”

“You _manhandled_ me,” Cat corrected. “Just…grab Carter’s bag and go. I’m fine.”

She stuttered a few times and stared at Cat with all the worry she felt that she might have done something to physically hurt or otherwise upset the woman. Whatever she wanted to say, however, went unsaid when Cat glared at her after she initially refused to listen to the older blonde and go.

Kara briefly averted her eyes and gulped before she stepped between Cat and the SUV to get Carter’s things. While she was at it, she grabbed Adam’s bag and slid it over her shoulder before she took her own bag in her free hand. She carried the three of them back to the cabin and left Cat to handle her own belongings alone, per her boss’ request. But as soon as she dropped Carter and Adam’s bags in front of their bedroom doors, she kicked her own bag across the hardwood inside the empty room left for her and went back to the main room to ensure Cat made it safely back inside the cabin with her things.

When Cat closed the trunk and headed toward the door, Kara slipped out of sight and allowed Cat the space she continued to insist she have on their trip. Once she was out of Cat’s sight, she used her super-hearing to detect when the other woman was settled in for the night before she felt even remotely comfortable getting any rest herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Sun streamed in through the open windows, which no one had bothered to close before bed the night before, and made the interior of the cabin glow with a feeling of home. Everything was yellow and orange and dark wood; inviting and warm, like autumn colors. The cabin was in no way a shack. It was even nicer than Kara’s apartment, not that it would have made her turn around and leave if it wasn’t.

Kara swept her hair back in a low, messy ponytail and padded out into the kitchen. She pushed her glasses onto her face as she sleepily made her way down the hall, her senses not quite attuned to the world yet. Normally, she perked right up in the morning, but that was in a city full of danger and loud noises. They were in a cabin that wasn’t really secluded, but it wasn’t in an overly populated area either. The only sounds she heard were gentle snoring and the nature that surrounded them outside.

When she reached the kitchen, she first checked all the cupboards to see what the cabin had at their disposal. There were mostly non-perishable items, but thankfully there was also coffee. It wasn’t Noonan’s, but it was caffeine. Cat would just have to make do with it. She scanned the counters until her eyes landed on the coffee pot and didn’t waste any time before she started to make enough for Cat, Adam, and herself.

Kara moved around the kitchen while she opened the refrigerator and took stock of all the food items the cabin owners left behind for their guests. It wasn’t much, definitely more than Kara expected, but there was some lunch meat for sandwiches and low fat milk. There were also half-used condiments and a fresh head of lettuce with a couple different blocks of cheese in one of the lower shelves.

When she closed the door and turned away from the wall, she saw Cat start to squirm on the couch. The woman’s blanket covered feet kicked out as Cat seemed to attempt to roll over. Once she appeared to have settled again, Kara turned back to the cabinets and grabbed three mugs that she then brought to the sink.  She rinsed them out before she added the dish soap and hand-washed them.

“You probably don’t need to do that,” she heard a groggy voice say from behind her. She whipped around and saw Cat’s head over the back of the couch. Her hair was a mess and her eyes still looked drowsy.

Kara smiled before she gave an explanation for her actions. “I’m just being overly cautious. I don’t know how long they’ve been sitting in the cabinet or if they were cleaned before they were put away.”

“I’m sure the owners wash their dishes, Kiera.”

“Yeah, but what about the other renters?”

Cat sighed and threw off her blanket. She ran a hand through her hair and fluffed it up like it wasn’t already from an active sleep. To Kara, it was obvious Cat had tossed and turned all night. The way her hair looked when she woke up was a dead giveaway, but then Kara had also had the help of super-hearing. Cat had huffed out of frustration a lot and the springs beneath the cushions squeaked had after the fourth time she’d thrown herself around the couch.

“How much coffee did you make,” Cat asked as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen. She took a seat at the island.

“A full pot. I wasn’t sure if you and Adam would want any, but I figured it was better to wake more just in case.”

Cat didn’t even hum in response. She just brushed a hand over her face and tried to make herself up a little more with several dramatic blinks.

Kara grabbed the mugs and moved them from the island counter to the counter near the coffee pot against the back of one of the kitchen walls.

“Do you want some,” Kara asked. “I know it’s not a latte, but it’s caffeine.”

“Yes. _Please_ ,” Cat hoarsely begged. “Two spoonfuls of sugar. I’d take cream or milk, but I doubt there’s any here.”

“There’s one percent milk in the fridge,” she informed Cat.

Cat scrunched up her nose, but said, “That’ll have to do. At least it’s not whole milk.”

 Kara nodded and carefully pulled the pot out from under the drip. Thankfully, the coffee maker had the “sneak-a-cup” feature and allowed Kara to pour a mug for Cat without any mess. She didn’t pour herself any, but pushed Cat’s cup toward the woman before she placed the pot back on the hot plate and let the coffee continue to brew. She then opened the fridge and grabbed the half-gallon of milk.

She looked up at Cat as the older blonde watched her make the coffee to Cat’s liking. It was a strange experience, but it didn’t make Kara uncomfortable. It had the exact opposite effect. Despite being away from the office, and even in a highly domestic setting, Kara felt grounded and normal. It was as if she hadn’t left CatCo, except that there were less demands and deadlines and even more time for Kara to feel human. She was still needed, but not as Supergirl. She was still helpful, but not always as an assistant.

Kara dropped a spoon into Cat’s coffee mug and smiled as she pulled her hand away. “There you go, Miss—”

Cat cut her off with an arched brow after the woman closed her hands around either side of the mug where it sat in front of her on the counter. Even tired and free of makeup, it was a pointed look that Kara knew not to question. She cleared her throat and then corrected herself before she said the wrong thing.

“Enjoy your coffee, _Cat_ ,” Kara stressed the woman’s first name.

“Thank you,” Cat replied without blinking while she kept her eyes focused on Kara.

Kara moved away from the counter to pull out the limited breakfast ingredients when one of the bedroom doors opened. She stopped in her tracks and turned toward the hallway just as Cat took a sip of her coffee.

Adam walked out into the kitchen and looked from Cat to Kara then smiled at the latter. His hair was still a mess from sleep, but he had running shorts on with a performance T-shirt designed to help with sweat absorption. Kara smiled back at him as he took in his appearance and noticed that he also already had on his hiking shoes.

“Good morning,” he greeted as he walked over to Kara and kissed her cheek.

“Morning,” Cat groaned before she pushed the coffee back up to her mouth and sipped.

Kara laughed as she watched the woman for a moment, but responded with a semi-cheerful, “Good morning” of her own.

“You about ready to go,” Adam asked as he looked between her and Cat. “Where’s Carter?”

“Still asleep,” Kara answered. “I thought maybe I’d have some coffee with your mom first and then we’ll drag Carter out of bed if we have to, let him have a little something to eat and then we can do whatever you want.”

“Oh, I don’t recommend eating a lot before we go,” Adam said.

“Well, we actually don’t have much to eat anyway. But I thought maybe we’d at least give Carter a Nutrigrain bar? Just to get him going? None of us really know what you have planned, so I’m not sure what we should be doing in preparation,” Kara confessed.

“I can go wake Carter and make sure he gets ready,” Cat offered. “While he gets dressed, I can finish my coffee and then we’ll stop at the store for whatever we need on hand for the weekend. There is a store around here, right?”

Adam turned to her and nodded. “Yeah, there are a few places to get food and first aid nearby.”

“Okay, so does that sound like a plan,” Cat asked as she set down her coffee.

“Uh, yeah,” he agreed.

“Good,” Cat said before she stood up. “I’ll get Carter and you two can take inventory of what we’re missing around here.”

Cat didn’t wait for confirmation and headed down the hallway toward her youngest son’s room.

Adam cleared his throat and smiled again as soon as he caught Kara’s attention. He closed the rest of the space between them and slowly leaned in for a kiss. Although it was on the lips that time, it was still chaste and sweet. He pulled back only a second later. “So, I was thinking today we’d hit one of the trails. We’ll get a good exercise in and have a chance to see some of the mountains. What do you think?”

“Sounds good,” she agreed and slipped out of his grasp to check on the coffee. “Are you going to want any of this? I made enough for the three of us.”

“No, thanks. I’m not big on coffee. A little bit here and there for long nights, but otherwise I like green and iced tea.”

Kara smiled. “Good to know.”

He smiled back and then said, “After the trail, we can camp out a little. There’s a national park nearby with a fire pit. Well, a couple of fire pits for decent sized groups to share if they want. You think Cat and Carter will want to go?”

“Maybe? You’d have to ask them.”

“You just…know them better than I do, so I always want to check with you before potentially making a fool out of myself.”

Kara let out a breathy laugh and poured herself a cup of coffee. It wasn’t pumpkin spice or some kind of caramel concoction that she favored, but if the Queen of All Media could make do without her latte then Kara could sure as hell handle a more bitter and stronger amount of caffeine than what she was used to.

“If they don’t come, will you join me out there?”

Kara reached for the milk and smiled at him again. “Of course. We can make s’mores. It’ll be great.”

There was a groan near the hallway and both Adam and Kara looked to see a sleepy Carter rub his eyes. Cat was close behind with a hand in his messy curls. She fluffed it up like only a mother would before she dropped her hand and stopped fusing over him.

“Why is everyone up so early,” Carter asked with a yawn.

“We’re getting ready to go for a walk in the area and look at all the nature, get a little sun,” Kara answered. “Do you think you’re up for it?”

Carter looked at Cat with sleepy confusion as he seemed to gauge how he should answer. When he turned to Adam again, he shrugged and said, “It’s what we’re here for, right?”

Adam smiled brightly at him and nodded. “Yeah. This is going to be worth it. I promise.”

Carter hesitated for a moment before he said, “I’m gonna go brush my teeth and change.” He scampered off before anyone could say anything and Adam, Cat and Kara were left alone again.

Adam barely looked at Cat and directed his attention at either the floor, a wall or the side of Kara’s head while Cat tried not to squirm in front of both of them. She shifted from foot to foot a couple times, but spoke almost as soon as she started to reveal her discomfort. “I think I’ll change, too.”

In seconds, Cat went to the couch and grabbed a few things from her luggage that she then took into bathroom with her. Once Kara heard the door shut, she took a long sip of coffee and set it down on the counter, pecked Adam on the cheek with a smile and told him, “I should do what they’re doing.”

Though her gray tank top would have been appropriate for a walk of hike, her black and blue pajama pants weren’t ideal for exercise. It didn’t matter that she could wear a parka in hundred-degree weather without breaking a sweat, but her pajamas were for nighttime lounging and sleeping only. And unless she had the chance to sleep in, she rarely wore them past seven o’clock every morning.

“Guess I’ll see you when you get back out here,” Adam said with a partially dimpled smile, like a school kid with a crush.

Kara wasn’t much better. She blushed as she looked back at Adam several times on the way to her room. Without the use of superspeed, she quickly removed her tank top and replaced it with a loose, white yoga tank before she stripped out of her pants. She then yanked on a pair of blue leggings and adjusted her tank so that it covered her butt, which was somewhat impressively accentuated in the leggings despite the small size of her backside.

When all four of them were finally ready, they me up in the living room and took as little as possible with them before they got into Adam’s SUV and headed to the first store they saw.

* * *

A computerized bell sound went off as soon as they stepped through the automatic double doors. Carter, usually quiet and not exactly energetic, dashed off toward the candy section. At least in that way he was like every other kid his age. Kara smiled as she saw him venture off and then turned to Cat as the woman attempted to call Carter back to their group. Cat stopped herself halfway through Carter’s name and sighed. She let him go and Kara was glad to see the other woman let go of the reins a little.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Kara told Cat, the smile she’d directed at Carter still on her face when she’d turned to the other blonde.

Cat narrowed her eyes and her next few movements lined up with her typical body language just before she gave snippy responses at the office, but the older woman’s eyes flickered from Kara to Adam, who stood just behind the younger woman, and back again before she deflated with a sigh. “Thank you,” Cat said as she looked away and started to scan the aisles.

Day two of their Grant family weekend and Adam’s presence had already seemed to soften the Queen of All Media. Although, Kara already knew there was a more concerned and open side to the woman. Kara was at least happy to see that it didn’t only take extreme circumstances to bring that more relaxed attitude out of her.

Cat walked off toward the rows of carts near the store entrance and grabbed one before she headed toward the deli section with it. With Cat off doing her shopping alone, Kara was satisfied enough to make her way into the snack aisle where Carter had a handful of Reese’s and M&Ms clutched tightly to his body. As he reached for a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, a couple M&Ms packages fell onto the floor in front of him.

Carter abandoned the pretzels and started to bend down to pick up the M&Ms, but more snacks fell from his arms and onto the floor beside and on top of the M&Ms.

Kara chuckled at the sight before she looked over her shoulder to see Adam still close behind her. “I can take care of this and the coffee,” she told him. “Why don’t you grab some cereal and breakfast bars, or protein bars. Or all of the above.”

Adam nodded and looked at Carter one last time before he went off in the other direction. Kara didn’t watch him leave and instead focused once again on Carter before she approached him with a wide smile. When she stopped at his side, she immediately bent down helped him pick up the fallen snacks.

“Here,” she started to say when all the snacks were off the floor. She set all the snacks she’d gathered into one hand and used her free hand to grab the bottom of his shirt. She held it out far enough to create a sort of hammock with it and placed the snacks in it. “When you don’t have a basket or cart to dump them in and you’re trying to stock up like a bear going into hibernation, always use your shirt. You can never go wrong when you use your shirt. My sister taught me that.”

Carter smiled at her for a moment before he turned his attention to the snacks still in his hand. He dumped them inside his upturned shirt with the rest of the junk food and pressed the hem of his shirt to his chest, part of his stomach on display because of it, and pulled the chocolate covered pretzels off the shelf. He kept the bag of pretzels in his hand and said, “Thanks” before he walked the rest of the way down the aisle and turned the corner.

“Wait,” Kara called out to him. Carter stopped and turned back to face her again before she said, “We need s’mores.”

“S’mores?” Carter asked with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

“Mhmm. There’s a fire pit at the park Adam wants to stop at when we’re done with the walk. Are you interested?”

Carter didn’t respond. Instead, he walked over to the chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. He was able to grab the chocolate bars and two large bags of marshmallows without issue, but struggled with even one box of graham crackers.

Kara chuckled as she walked up to the box Carter tried to take himself and grabbed it along with a second one. She carried both of them as Carter, relieved of graham cracker toting, continued toward another aisle.

Kara, as promised, followed him. He led them down the coffee aisle and stopped in front of a small barrel of Folger’s.

“My mom prefers the Keurig stuff, but I don’t think the house we’re staying at has one,” Carter explained. “This is the coffee she drank before she bought herself a Keurig. She likes the medium roast best.”

Kara smiled at Carter again. “Thank you. You’re extremely helpful. You know that?”

Carter smiled wide enough in response that he flashed his teeth.

“You’d be a god if you can tell me what kind of creamer to get for her,” Kara added. “Or, wait. Let me try to guess.”

Carter gave her a nod and looked as ready as a game show contestant waiting for the next question in the hopes of being quick enough to the buzzer with the right answer.

“French vanilla?” Kara asked him.

“Yeah,” Carter replied. “How’d you guess?”

“Her latte order. It’s vanilla. And your mom likes to stir things up in the world, but she rarely changes anything about her personal life.”

He hummed and nodded his agreement before he asked, “So, to the refrigerated section?”

“You got it.”

Once they had a full gallon of 1% milk and a bottle of French vanilla creamer, the two of them headed toward the breakfast foods and joined Adam. When they met up with him, Adam already had two boxes of protein bars in one hand and Honey Nut Cheerios tucked under his arm.

“Do you actually like those or do you just get them because they’re healthy,” Carter asked as he eyed the Cheerios.

“Uh, it was an acquired taste,” Adam confessed. “At first it was because it’s healthy, but then I started to like them the more I had them. Although, I used to get the regular Cheerios, without the honey flavor, and realized very quickly that the honey made them taste better.”

“Wow,” Carter said.

“What,” Adam asked.

“That’s almost exactly what happened with me. My mo- _Mom_ started buying Honey Nut Cheerios and I didn’t like them at first, but I got used to it. And now, it’s like none of the other cereals really exist.”

Adam’s lips curled into a small smile. “That’s cool,” he responded. “I guess that’s something we have in common.”

“It’s also sad,” Kara cut in. “How do either of you live without Cocoa Puffs?”

Adam’s smile widened and Carter started to laugh. The two of them looked at each other and seemed to be on the same wavelength without any tension or awkwardness between them for the first time since they met. Slowly, Kara began to smile as she witnessed the small, but important, initial connection between the brothers. When they both looked at her again, she drifted toward the Cocoa Puffs that were thankfully close by and tucked a box of it under her free arm, the milk in one hand and the creamer in the other.

“You’re both going to have a bowl of this before the weekend is over,” Kara said and spun on her heels so her back was turned to them before either of them could reply. “Let’s go find Cat so we can drop all this stuff in the cart.”

And that was almost easier said than done.

“ _What_ is all that,” Cat asked, her eyes zoned in on all the candy Carter shed from his shirt and into the cart.

“Necessities,” he answered before he looked at Kara with a smirk that she mirrored when they locked eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Kara said before she looked at Cat and continued. “There are plenty M&Ms for you, too.”

“You’re welcome,” Carter added with a bright, if not at least a little smug, smile.

Cat’s jaw slackened and her lips parted just as her eyes widened when she looked back and forth between her younger son and Kara. The older woman inhaled and appeared ready to say something, but she seemed unable to find the words. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but noting came out and she eventually gave up and pushed the cart—snacks and all—up to the checkout line.

Kara and Carter high-fived over their success and Adam smiled along with their tiny victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Cat and Kara interactions to come, but I think the Adam and Carter and Carter and Kara interactions are important for this "family bonding" weekend as well. Hopefully you agree. Let me know what you think. :)


	5. Chapter 5

They made a quick stop back at the cabin to put all the food away and then they were off again. Another short drive and the four of them parked in a well-used parking lot in front of a marked trail that wove around and through a wide valley. In the distance they could see some mountains and by the look on Carter’s face, Kara could tell he was as excited as her.

“Incredible,” she breathed the word out with a smile. The view in the crisp morning air was in awe, and Carter was impressed.

“I admit,” Cat said, “it’s pretty, as far as nature goes, but are we really going to _stare_ at it for the next hour or are we going to walk through this thing?”

Adam scratched the back of his head and looked out at the scenery with an aggravated expression. Kara and Carter were unaffected, but Kara knew it was because they were used to Cat’s snippy, elitist behavior. Adam still barely knew the woman, and her not-so-nice side didn’t seem to endear him to Cat. Kara understood. It was hard to see through the icy exterior, but Kara knew if he could just get past his own that he’d finally see his mother wasn’t a bad person at all.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Adam said before he turned to face the group with an unpleasant look on his face and looked directly at Cat. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Adam went ahead of the group and started on the trail. Kara put a hand on Carter’s shoulder and gently guided him toward the trail after Adam. In seconds, her eyes settled on Cat. The other woman looked down at the dirt path underfoot with a contemplative look. Sadness flooded her green eyes and she seemed to be mentally kicking herself for being so dismissive of an activity Adam was happy and excited about doing.

“Just…take it slow,” Kara suggested. “Try to find something enjoyable in these new experiences. With your _sons_.”

Cat’s expression went from enraged to understanding and silent agreement. She cleared her throat and nodded as she slipped her hand beneath Kara’s on Carter’s shoulder. Kara immediately removed her hand and allowed the two of them to go ahead onto the trail. As they walked on, Kara stayed close, but she probably should have been closer.

Behind Cat, she had a more open view of the clothes the woman chose to wear that day. Black Under Armor shorts that ended at mid-thigh with blue stripes down each side. It was paired with a white V-neck Under Armor shirt to match. Her brands never clashed and even sweating didn’t allow her to buy or wear anything less than the best. Expensive usually meant the best in Cat’s case. Not always, but usually.

Kara’s eyes went from the shorts to the shirt and back again until her gaze lowered even further to take in smooth, fair legs on display in the California sun. Kara quickened her pace and sidled up to Carter. She kept up with the two of them and tried not to look any harder at Cat’s bared legs. She appreciated male and female forms, but appreciating her boss’ form, her boyfriend’s _mother’s_ form, was inappropriate. So she walked alongside Carter until they caught up with Adam, who wasn’t too far ahead.

“How long is this walk,” Carter asked Adam.

Adam frowned and stared quizzically at Carter as he tried and failed to keep a steady walking pace. He slowed as he looked over Carter and seemed to try to read his younger brother’s expression, which was unhelpfully neutral. “What, tired of this already, too? We just got here.”

Kara set a hand on Carter’s shoulder again and squeezed before she said to Adam, “He’s curious. He’s not asking to cause trouble or because he’s antsy.”

Adam immediately looked guilty as he directed his attention on the trail instead of Carter or Kara. He took a deep breath before he was able to look at them again and when he did, he said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you, Carter. I’m a jerk.”

Carter gave that some thought and shrugged. “It’s okay. I think that’s one of those rude questions you shouldn’t ask unless you have a point. Right, Mom?”

Kara laughed into the hand that shot straight to her mouth before she attempted to subtly look at Cat. Her laughter gave her away, though, because Cat glared at her in less than a heartbeat. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one laughing then.

Adam chuckled and slowed down again as he kept looking over at the three of them. Kara heard him laugh before she saw him, eyes bright and filled with amusement.

When Kara looked in Cat’s direction again, her eyes landed on Carter as he smiled from ear to ear. But when her gaze finally locked on Cat, the other woman had a warm look on her face and looked only at Carter in that moment. She wasn’t angry or insulted, which she most likely would have been of it had been anyone else that had suggested Cat had instructed them on how and when to be rude. Cat had nothing but love and tenderness for Carter. That kid had his mother wrapped around his finger and Kara easily enjoyed that view, too.

After several minutes on the trail, her view shifted to look out at the valley that surrounded them. Birds chirped, the wind gently blew just enough to pick up the ends of her hair and make them sway back and forth the tiniest bit, and in the distance she was able to hear the faint sound of rushing water. She tuned into it with her superhearing and beamed at the realization that there was a large waterfall somewhere along the way.

“Hey,” Adam’s voice pulled Kara back into the present moment. “There are hardly any steep inclines in the next few miles.”

Adam had partially folded in his hand that he held out to her as he spoke. She took the map and squinted at it for a better understanding of where they were and where they were headed. Adam reached out and pointed at their location before he continued to speak.

“Might be fun to have a little race. You, me…Carter, if he’s interested.” Adam looked at Carter and smiled.

Kara looked at Carter as well. He looked up to the challenge, but Kara’s eyes slid to Cat only a few seconds later. The other woman didn’t seem at all willing to go for a run, even if it was only a light jog. She also didn’t look thrilled about Adam not automatically including her in his plan.

“Um, why don’t you and Carter go ahead,” Kara said. “Just a little friendly competition between brothers. If…that’s okay with you, Cat?”

All eyes turned to the older woman, who blinked before her eyebrows shot toward her hairline.

“Well, I guess if it’s safe and you two won’t be far,” Cat started to reply and trailed off as she gave it more thought. “Maybe wait wherever you stop until we can all meet up again? A-and you have enough water to be running around out here in the heat, right?”

“We can do that,” Adam agreed with a nod. “And I’ve done this before, been out hiking and biking and all kinds of stuff in weather like this. We’ll be fine.”

Kara noticed the way Cat’s throat bobbed before the woman nodded and quietly said, “Okay.” She looked more fragile in that moment than Kara had ever seen her.

Cat cleared her throat a moment later and spoke louder as she told Kara, “You should go with them.”

“What? No.” Kara flashed a smile to lighten the mood and her answer and added, “We should stay in pairs to make sure no one gets lost or hurt along the way. Might as well hang back with you and let the two of them have some time together.”

By the looks on their faces, Adam and Carter were convinced her words were the truth. Cat, on the other hand, gave her a look. She wasn’t fooling the other blonde for a second, although Cat still knew very little about Kara beyond the few confessions shared in times of distress. Well, that and the unimportant, mostly useless things Cat found out from records upon records she’d dug up on Kara when she’d tried to prove the younger woman was Supergirl.

“Alright,” Adam said as he reached for the map again. “We’ll stop here and wait for you.”

Carter moved closer and peered over the top of the map while Kara looked at the spot Adam pointed to. She nodded when she had the location memorized, but that turned out to be an unnecessary precaution.

“I’ll leave this with you,” Adam said as handed her the map. “I’ve got one of the brochures from the visitor’s center with me and I can use that to keep Carter and I on course.”

 Adam looked at Kara and, surprisingly, at Cat before he briefly smiled and then turned away from them. He faced forward, toward the trail ahead, where he walked beside Carter and then looked at the younger Grant. “Ready,” he asked.

Carter nodded and flexed his fingers as he seemed to try to loosen up.

“Count of three,” Adam told him. “One, two, three.”

The boys dashed off and around the upcoming curve in the trail before they vanished from sight. If Cat ever worried about them or if anything happened to either of them, Kara knew she’d be able to find them with her X-ray vision and superhearing in the blink of an eye. At that point, however, it wasn’t necessary. What was necessary was being there for Cat, who looked nervous and tense when Kara looked over at her yet again.

“He’s just having a hard time adjusting,” Kara explained.  “I can talk to him a little more about this if you—”

“No. No, I don’t need you to talk to him like he’s—” Cat stopped herself and sighed. “I understand you’re just trying to help, but it’s not your job to make him like me.”

“Why not?”

“Kier- You’re not his mother and you shouldn’t fight so hard for _my_ relationship with him. As his girlfriend that puts you in a difficult position. How are you not getting this?”

Kara frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The more you push, the more he might come to resent you for attempting all this in the first place,” Cat sadly said, her eyes focused on the trail.

Kara didn’t even think about what she was doing when she touched Cat’s bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze. It hadn’t been the first time she’d touched Cat, wasn’t even the first time she’d touched Cat in that spot, but Cat still reacted the same way she had the last time Kara had ignored the woman’s personal space.

Cat’s eyes drifted down to Kara’s hand before she looked up again and stared directly into Kara’s eyes. The look Kara saw reflected back at her in the older blonde’s eyes was curious. Curious because it was unreadable. There seemed to be a few different emotions swimming in Cat’s eyes as the other woman looked at her, and Kara couldn’t identify a single one of them. All she knew of what she saw was that Cat didn’t mind Kara’s touch enough to want to pull away and the sadness Kara had heard in the other woman’s voice was no longer visible in her gaze.

“Sorry,” Kara said after a few long seconds and released Cat just a moment too late.

Cat averted her eyes as she swept a hand over the place Kara’s hand had been before she licked her lips.

When Cat’s tongue darted out of her mouth, even for just a second, Kara looked away as well and almost missed Cat bring her fingers—the same ones that had skated over the skin Kara had touched—to her newly wet lips. It was a casual graze, a connection between Kara’s hand and Cat’s mouth, and once Kara had seen it she wished she hadn’t.

Cat chose that moment to look up at her again and Kara awkwardly tried to look anywhere else. She wasn’t even sure why she jerked her head in the opposite direction and tried to change the subject with a slow, drawn out, “Ummm” directed at the valley and the trail and never at Cat.

Kara was too busy trying to find something else to talk about, _anything_ else to say to the other woman, that she didn’t hear Cat sigh—even with her superhearing—and jumped at the sound of the other blonde’s voice when Cat was the one to successfully disrupt Kara’s little moment. It definitely wasn’t one of her finest.

“Why don’t we make sure the boys are alright?” Cat phrased it more like a statement, made it sound like a suggestion instead of a question. “I’m sure they’re already where Adam said they’d be. The longer we keep them waiting, the longer we’ll be out here and no closer to the end of this trail.”

“Right. Yeah. Okay,” Kara overenthusiastically agreed. It was also something she wished she hadn’t done.

Because if Kara had spent a little less time thinking about Cat brushing her fingers to her lips, she would have been able to recall Cat’s advice about not trying to intervene too much in Cat and Adam’s relationship. Instead, Kara walked ahead with Adam and said all the wrong things.

“So, it seems like you and Carter are starting to bond,” Kara told him with a smile and then looked over her shoulder at Carter as he walked with Cat a short distance behind Adam and herself.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess we’re finding a way to get along,” Adam nodded and flashed a smile of his own. “Right now I’d be happy to bond with you.”

Adam’s smile widened as he reached out and slipped Kara’s hand into his.

Kara blushed and looked down at the ground to watch where she walked, too pink in the face when she saw Adam’s bright eyes on her. “I don’t know. I think we’ve bonded plenty in the last couple months. You know a lot about me and hardly anything about Carter. Or Cat.”

Kara couldn’t be sure, but she thought she felt Adam’s grip on her hand loosen a little.

“There are still a few things I don’t know about you,” Adam replied. “Maybe I should get to know those things first.”

Kara frowned. “Things like…?”

“Mm, I don’t know. Things like, why are you so interested in helping Cat and I reach some kind of understanding?” Adam had asked the question with a smile directed at her, a lightness in his voice as a hint of laughter seeped out as he’d asked her.

Unfortunately, the answer wasn’t a light subject for her.

Her brow creased as her frown deepened. She took a moment to herself before she looked up at Adam. He still had a smile on his face, but it vanished as soon as he noticed she wasn’t smiling back.

“I… I was- I lost my parents when I was younger,” Kara told him.

“Oh. Oh, Kara, I’m sorry,” Adam immediately said and squeezed her hand again, although it didn’t feel as tight and reassuring to Kara as she was sure he’d meant it to feel.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. But…um, I have a family. I- Well, you know I have a sister.” She looked at him again and saw him nod before she continued. “She’s actually my foster sister. So, my family… It wasn’t exactly easy building a relationship with them, but now that I have it…”

She trailed off and looked up at him with desperation in pleading eyes. She wanted so badly for Adam to just understand. She wanted him to know exactly what she was trying to say without having to spell it out for him, but understanding wasn’t the look she saw in his eyes. There was an openness in them, but only because he was waiting for her to finish what she had to say. And when she didn’t continue, the openness morphed into confusion.

“Kara?”

Kara sighed and shook her head. “I just think family is _so_ important. That’s why I think you should maybe spend more time with yours while we’re here.”

Adam let go of her hand completely then and took a couple steps away from her as they continued to walk along the trail. He rubbed a hand over his face before he was able to look at her again. “I didn’t come out here to spend time with them,” he said. “I came here to be with you. They’re here because you invited them, and I’m not mad that you did. I just… Can you stop forcing this on me? Please? I want to at least get to know Carter, because he hasn’t done anything wrong, but I can’t- I don’t think I can do that with you breathing down my neck about it all the time.”

Kara opened and closed her mouth several times as she struggled to find a response, preferably one that wouldn’t upset Adam even more, but nothing came to mind.

Adam sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair before he looked at her again and said, “I need a minute.” He didn’t wait for a reply—not that Kara could have come up with one anyway—before he picked up his pace and hurried even further ahead of their little group.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Carter had gulped down most of the water he, Cat and Kara had on them. Cat tugged at her shirt, often, and pulled and released it several times in an attempt to fan herself. After a couple hours in the sun, Cat and Carter had both worked up a sweat, and Carter’s face was a little pink. When Kara took a closer look at Cat, which she’d tried not to do since the earlier incident, she saw a pinkish tint to the other woman’s skin that almost matched Carter’s.

Cat turned her attention from herself to Carter and she frowned as soon as she looked at him. “I should have brought the sunscreen with me. One application never seems to be enough for us.”

“Oh.” Kara hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it flew out of her mouth before she could think better of it. It also wasn’t until Cat and Carter looked at her that she realized her response was verbal. “Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to actually say that. Just, um… Are you getting sunburned? I can just run back to the car and get it for you if you both need it. It’s not that far.”

Cat’s eyes slowly swept over Kara from her face to her feet and back again, curious and assessing and maybe even something else. When their eyes locked again, Cat cleared her throat and blinked away the unidentifiable emotion in her eyes before she said, “No. It’s fine. You don’t need to do that. Give me the map.”

Kara stared at her quizzically, but the impatient wave of Cat’s hand had her give in to the other woman’s request.

Cat looked it over for a few minutes before she nodded to herself and then handed it back. “We’re almost at the end of the trail and my skin has always been more sensitive than Carter’s, so he’ll probably have little to complain about later.”

“And what about you?” Kara frowned, her expression filled with worry as she stared at Cat.

“You know me, Kiera,” Cat casually said. “I always have something to complain about.”

“But Adam—”

“Whining about a sunburn because of my poor planning skills isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done, and certainly not to Adam. We’ll be fine. Besides, haven’t you learned by now not to mess with things that aren’t your problem to solve?”

Cat arched an eyebrow and the moment it rose, it felt like a Kryptonite dagger to Kara’s heart. Kara knew Cat had a point, but that didn’t lessen the sting of her words.

Kara bobbed her head in agreement. It was the only thing she could manage to do. Despite her desire to go off on her own or cry, she looked at Carter. Sweet, sensitive Carter looked at her with concerned eyes that pushed Kara to summon up all the strength she carried when she wore her suit, which she left buried at the bottom of her bag at the cabin. She straightened up, pushed her shoulders back and her chest out, and forced a smile that almost felt real. Carter didn’t seem to buy it because he still looked concerned, but he didn’t say anything either. Slowly, he redirected his eyes to focus on the trail. She was thankful for that. Cat and her confrontational attitude were all Kara could handle after a tough day with Adam. She’d gone through much worse all at once, and right around the time she’d started dating Adam, but that kind of loss and the build-up of any emotional pain wasn’t something she was comfortable with feeling again.

She shoved her sadness aside, buried it like her suit, and tried to not cry as though she was at work. The rule was not to cry at work and with Cat nearby, she doubted not crying would be a problem.

She sucked in a deep breath and hesitated before she asked, “Are you… Will you be okay if I go for a jog?”

“In this heat?” Cat raised both eyebrows as she looked at Kara with some scrutiny.

“There’s a breeze,” Kara lamely replied and hoped she sounded convincing.

Cat stared at her with sharp eyes and an unamused expression before she rolled her shoulders in a motion as close to a shrug as Cat had ever achieved. It seemed to be her way of shaking off whatever feelings she’d felt and shown prior to the movement. “We’re perfectly capable of handling ourselves. Last time I checked, you aren’t our babysitter or our bodyguard.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kara tried to say.

Cat shook her head and waved her off before she said, “Yes, yes. Go.”

Kara winced just a little as she looked from Cat to Carter. Carter forced a smile at her that time and yet again, it felt like another Grant understood her. She hadn’t said a word, either time, but both Carter and Cat seemed to be on the same wavelength as her. Alex had so far been the only one to connect to her like that, and it wasn’t instant.

With that in mind, Kara smiled back at Carter without hesitance or force. And just like that, Carter’s smile brightened as it became as genuine as Kara’s.

To see him smile at her like that gave her a burst of extra strength and encouragement that made it easier for her to finally take a moment to herself and breathe. She waved at Carter before she kicked up her feet and jogged off. Careful not to run fast enough to inspire herself to leap into the air, which she definitely preferred over running, she made sure to stick to one edge of the trail and try not to seek out Adam. It wasn’t that she wanted to bother him, especially when he made it clear that he wanted to be alone. But if she saw him on the trail, she wouldn’t want to run right past him without even acknowledging him. Adam might have pushed her away and she might have picked a fight with him that she never wanted to start, but ignoring him wasn’t a good way to handle the situation. Even if it made things awkward not to respond that way.

Unfortunately, that was almost exactly how Adam dealt with it.

* * *

Another thirty minutes passed before Adam jogged back up to the start of the trail when Carter, Cat and Kara were together near the park. Kara watched him go, unhappy that he’d bolted as soon as he’d denied her offered assistance to get the SUV, and twisted her hands together in front of her stomach. Her stomach mimicked the movement of her hands and turned over and over a few times. It only settled when it knotted itself up, nervous.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slight motion and turned to see Cat as the other woman started to lead Carter to the entrance of the park Adam told them to head to while he went back for his SUV at the top of the trail. Kara licked her lips and looked down at the ground as she stepped forward the tiniest bit. When she looked up again, she saw Cat’s green eyes focused on her with a knowing but also, somehow, sympathetic look in them. As crazy as it seemed, Kara felt like Cat understood her completely in that moment. What made that crazy to think was the fact that Kara wasn’t even sure she understood what she felt. The only thing that made sense to the Kryptonian was that Adam was in a mood, the look in Cat’s eyes made her feel less alone, and the best place for her to be in that moment was with Carter and Cat. Because she was at least wanted there, and maybe even needed.

Together, Kara and Cat found the entrance to the park with Carter strategically placed in between the two of them as they walked off the outlined trail. The sun was low in the sky as it made its descent behind the surrounding trees, pink and orange light visible mainly through branches and the gaps between the leaves. Kara wasn’t sure if the Grants felt it, but the temperature dropped along with the sun. It was a subtle decrease at first, but it became more apparent the closer they were to nightfall.

Kara waited with Cat and Carter, her attention drawn to the single road that Adam would take to reach them. None of them spoke as they stood together and the longer the silence lasted, the more it wore on Kara’s nerves. After a few minutes, even with Carter present and listening, Kara had to talk about what was on her mind.

“Guess you should be happy you’re not the only one Adam doesn’t want to talk to right now, and that you were right,” Kara blurted out, even as her soon-to-be watery eyes remained on the road. “I pushed. I pushed too hard and now he probably won’t talk to me for the rest of the night.”

She faintly caught sight of Carter shift beside her, but she kept her main attention focused on Adam’s return.

“He’ll get over it,” Cat told her, voice flat with either disinterest or annoyance. Kara couldn’t really tell in that moment.

“You don’t know that,” Kara quietly replied.

Cat scoffed and a hint of self-deprecating laughter escaped the other woman. “I’m on a family trip with him this weekend and I didn’t stick around to be the mother he wanted me to be before this. And even now I’m not what he wants, or needs. In time, he’ll realize that you pushing him isn’t as upsetting compared to all the wrongs I’ve done by him.”

As soon as the words were out of Cat’s mouth, Kara felt Carter lean in against her side and wrap an arm around her waist. She immediately looked to her left and stared, wide-eyed, at Carter as he hugged both her and Cat to himself. Her gaze went from the top of Carter’s head to Cat’s startled gaze, which was already set on Kara by the time the younger blonde looked up.

“He shouldn’t be mad at either of you,” Carte said. “If he stays mad at you, I’ll stop talking to him. See how he likes it.”

“Carter,” Cat softly said with a sigh.

Kara watched Cat deflate as the other woman started to soothe her younger son, a hand almost instantly tangled in his curls. “We shouldn’t be talking about this in front of you. Whatever issues Adam has with us don’t involve you.”

“Yes, they do,” Carter replied and pulled away just enough to look Cat in the eyes as he spoke. “You’re my mom and Kara’s my friend. Anything he does that hurts you, hurts me.”

“Carter,” Kara carefully cut in as she placed a hand on his upper back, between his shoulder blades. “Your mom’s right. You shouldn’t be in the middle of this.”

“But I am,” he insisted. “And I’m allowed to be upset that you two are upset.”

“Nobody said you aren’t allowed to feel that way,” Cat explained.

“But you shouldn’t be angry with Adam. He’s also allowed to feel the way he feels,” Kara added.

As if on cue, beams from a set of headlights flashed across all three of their faces. They broke away from their partial group hug and looked out into the parking lot to see Adam park and cut the engine.

Kara’s superhearing instinctively kicked in just as Carter sighed, not at all relieved to see Adam, and Cat sharply inhaled with new tension set in her clenched fists and tight shoulders. Kara took a deep breath of her own as she tore herself away from the acute focus her hearing had on Cat and Carter and made her way to the SUV.

“Need a hand?” Kara asked with a small smile and hopeful eyes as she stood beside Adam at the back of the SUV.

Adam yanked open the trunk door and Kara back up to avoid being hit, her eyes locked on Adam’s as he looked at her for a moment. There was still a bit of anger in them, but his eyes seemed to soften as he appeared to consider something.

“Yeah,” Adam finally relented as he released the trunk door once it was extended above his head. “You can get the stuff for the s’mores, and maybe two of the fold out chairs?”

“Sure,” Kara said as her smile effortlessly spread wider across her face.

Adam pulled the cooler out of the trunk and set it on the ground for a moment before he reached further into the back of the SUV and retrieved two of the four chairs that were packed away in sleeves that were the same color as the chairs they contained. He slung both chairs over his right shoulder and then lifted the cooler in his left hand while Kara also slung the remaining two chairs over her right shoulder and held the graham crackers and chocolate against her chest, the marshmallows clutched in her left hand.

Adam reached up with his free hand and, with some difficulty due to the chairs, closed the trunk and locked the SUV. “Thanks,” was all he said before he walked alongside Kara in silence toward Cat and Carter.

Kara quietly cleared her throat and ducked her head as her smile disappeared. She chose to keep quiet and avoid Cat’s gaze as she slowed down. She fell a few steps behind Adam and he was able to lead the way toward wherever it was he wanted to spend some time by the fire underneath the stars.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooo sorry for the long wait. I've had this done for months now, but I originally planned to have more stuff included in this chapter. Which is why I'd waited to post it until everything was done. But now that I'm working on the next scene that was supposed to be in the chapter, I think separating them into different chapters might work better for several reasons. One of those reasons being that now you've all got an update to read. Finally! XD
> 
> I'm still working on a few other things right now, so I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up. But know that I'm still working on this story and it will be finished eventually. I might update slowly, but I do my best to make sure my fics are never abandoned. Hopefully that gives you some comfort. For now, enjoy the latest chapter. :)

The fire crackled to life as the flames rose high above their heads and provided heat and light once the sun had faded beyond the horizon. There were a few other groups gathered around their own nearby fire pits, but there was enough space between them that allowed for plenty of privacy. Given the tension and lack of conversation between the four of them, privacy was a good thing. Although, if they weren’t yelling at each other, there wasn’t much to keep private.

“Ugh, I burned it,” Carter groaned. “Again.”

Kara’s attention drifted away from everyone else and fixated on Carter as he pouted at the marshmallow he’d turned into charcoal. He sat on one of the five benches circled around their fire with Cat by his side.

Carter picked at the marshmallow and always yanked his hand away after every attempt to slide the ruined ingredient off the stick, still too hot to touch for more than a couple seconds. He glared at the marshmallow when he was finally able to tear it free and toss it on the ground.

“Sweetheart,” Cat gently said with only a hint of scolding. “You shouldn’t throw that on the ground. If you didn’t want it, you should have thrown it away.”

Cat leaned over and grabbed the charred marshmallow before she turned and tossed it in the partially rusted, green trashcan behind her.

“Actually, you should have asked me first,” Kara said with a teasing smile. She waited until Cat and Carter’s eyes were on her before she continued to say, “I would have eaten it.”

Carter smiled back at her and held Kara’s gaze for a few seconds before he pulled another marshmallow out of the bag and placed it on the stick. He held out the stick so the marshmallow was almost directly in the flames and part of the marshmallow caught on fire. Cat immediately helped pull it back, away from the fire, and then she blew on it. The flame died in seconds, but a corner of the marshmallow remained dark brown as a result.

Carter sighed and let go of the stick. “Forget it. I’ll never get this right,” he mumbled.

Kara stood and took the few steps over to Cat and Carter’s bench before she scooched in beside the younger Grant. With her own stick still in hand, a marshmallow on the tip and not quite toasted, she took Carter’s hand and gave him partial control of the cooking process.

“The trick is to keep it just close enough to make it warm and gooey without torching it,” Kara said as she guided Carter to push the marshmallow toward the fire. “But don’t worry if you can’t do it. I burn mine all the time.”

Carter chuckled a little and mostly kept his eyes on the marshmallow as Kara helped him hold it steady. Kara, however, kept her eyes on Carter. He was so intent to make the perfect, melted marshmallow and the sight of pure concentration on his face warmed Kara’s heart. She smiled when she looked at him, but the small wave of the stick in Cat’s hand drew her attention to the other blonde.

Cat looked stunned, her eyes wide and mouth open as she focused on Kara.

Kara beamed at her like everything was normal, and like she hadn’t checked Cat out earlier that day, before she reached over with her free hand and said, “I’ll take that.” She then snatched the marshmallow off the stick, the one Carter had slightly burned, and popped it into her mouth. She only chewed it for a few seconds before she practically sang the words, “Thank you.”

Cat’s shock disappeared in favor of her typical eye roll. That reaction only made Kara chuckle as she continued to chew the semi-burnt marshmallow. Her attention then shifted back to Carter and the marshmallow they were in the middle of heating up.

“Oh, let’s turn it,” Kara suggested to Carter and started to spin the stick so that the side of the marshmallow that faced them was turned toward the fire. “If you don’t cook it evenly, it just doesn’t taste right.”

Carter nodded along as he seemed to absorb the information like a sponge. “How long does it usually take?”

“Not too long. That’s how they get burned. That and shoving them _in_ the fire,” Kara lightly teased.

Carter glared at her and he almost looked identical to Cat. But when he stuck his tongue out a second later, he was back to the pre-teen she knew, and was therefore much less intimidating than his mother.

Kara laughed and bumped shoulders with him before she looked up at the marshmallow in front of them. The smile brought on by her laughter vanished when she saw Adam on the other side of the fire. He sat by himself, hunched over with his forearms pressed to his thighs and a frown on his face. The longer Kara looked at him, she could see beneath the hurt in his eyes and unmasked a deeper emotion: guilt.

When Adam caught her looking at him, he fidgeted and cleared his throat before he set aside his own stick—marshmallow still cold—and stood up. “Um, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Uh, yeah. Just…let me finish this,” Kara softly said and flashed a small smile.

Adam nodded and slowly stepped away from the fire. He walked over toward one of several large trees in the area that the fire pits were spaced between throughout the entire park.

It took less than a minute before she pulled the marshmallow away from the fire and checked it by carefully squeezing it between her forefinger and thumb. It was hot and soft.

“Perfect,” Kara said. “Blow on it a little before you take it off.”

Kara handed him the open box of graham crackers before she broke off a few squares of chocolate from one of the several chocolate bars.

“For someone who supposedly burns her marshmallows, you’re awfully good at getting the temperature just right,” Cat said. Her was low and almost accusatory while her eyes narrowed in on Kara as though further inspection would uncover a headline worthy secret.

“Maybe I like them burnt,” Kara replied with a cocked eyebrow and a grin she mirrored from all the times she’d seen Cat challenge someone and show off her immense confidence.

Cat didn’t back down from whatever petty thing they’d started, but her lips curled in the subtlest smirk Kara had ever seen the other woman give. Just a twitch of her upper lip and Kara knew Cat wasn’t necessarily surprised, but she was definitely proud.

Kara continued to grin while Cat was still able to see her, but she lost the grin as soon as she turned away and briefly replaced it with a look of nervousness. She had to remind herself to be extra careful despite being away from National City. Because even though she wasn’t near the DEO or CatCo, she was still around Cat. And that woman was nothing if not persistent. Her research into Kara’s entire history was enough proof of that.

All thoughts of Cat receded to the back of her mind when she looked over at Adam where he stood against a tree. His hands were at his side, but he clenched and unclenched his fists in a clear sign of tension.

“Hey,” Kara breathed out with a smile on her face. “Everything okay?”

"Yeah, I- uh, well, no," Adam replied. He ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck before he dropped his arm back to his side. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you earlier. I just... I just really wanted this weekend to be about you and me and instead it's... It's something else."

"Earlier you said you weren't upset that I'd invited your family."

"Yeah, and I meant that. But...I still want to have _some_ time alone with you while we're here. Instead, I kind of...feel like an outsider."

"I'm sorry," Kara said with a frown. "I didn't know. I should have, but—"

"No, Kara, it's not that you should have known. I should have said something instead of throwing a temper tantrum."

"I really should have known, Adam," Kara insisted, her voice soft and apologetic. It wasn't just that, as his girlfriend, she should have known his change in mood like her own. There was also the fact that she was more intuitive with Cat and Carter's wants, needs, and moods more than she was Adam's. Superpowers aside, she was much better at discerning how to proceed with Cat during any given circumstance. She was more in tune with Cat's emotions after two years of being her assistant. And while she only had two months of experience with Adam, she still understood Carter better than his older brother. And she'd spent much less time with Carter than she had with Adam in all the time she'd worked for Cat.

"Wow," Adam said with an awe-filled expression. "I'm the one at fault and you still think you owe me an apology."

Kara looked up from the bark she'd chosen to stare at while she'd come to her recent realization. Her eyes were big and guilty and sad.

"Oh. Kara, I didn't mean to upset you. I... What did I say to screw this up?"

Kara shook her head. "No, it's not... You didn't say anything wrong. Um, you actually have a good point. The only relationship I should really be focused on this weekend is ours."

Adam reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek and down to her chin. He smiled at her and it lit up his entire face, but she didn't feel its warmth. She knew it was there. She knew Adam's smile came from a good place and should have made her feel that way and more, but it didn't.

She smiled back, but the expression didn't reach her eyes. Thankfully for her, Adam didn't seem to notice. Seemingly satisfied with their talk, he moved away from the tree and held out his hand as he took a few steps forward. Kara placed her hand in his and walked alongside him as they made their way back to the fire.

That time when Kara sat down on the bench beside Cat and Carter's, she wasn't alone. Adam grabbed his stick and marshmallow from the bench he'd previously sat on and threw them in the trash before he grabbed a new stick and a fresh marshmallow to roast. Once he had what he needed, he sat down beside Kara and smiled at her, Carter, and Cat before he stuck his marshmallow in front of the fire.

"Okay, remind me how it is this works?" Adam asked her with that same smile on his face, but added a hint of laughter to his voice as he looked back and forth between the fire and Kara.

Kara faked another smile at him that puffed out her cheeks and made her resemble the Michelin Man. She recited the few key points she'd told Carter about roasting marshmallows and Adam had laughed as he'd tried, but then purposely burned his first marshmallow. It was supposed to be cute, one of those couple-y moments, and Kara had played the part. She'd laughed and grabbed part of the stick to help Adam keep the marshmallow steady where he held it just close enough to flames to heat it without ruining it. She'd teased him a little bit for his failure, which he'd claimed only happened because his grip had slipped and it was hard to focus with Kara staring at him. She should have enjoyed the moment. It was something she never thought she'd have as an alien, especially once she'd decided to be Supergirl. But it hadn't felt right. Not just because Adam still didn't know she was Supergirl, because neither did Carter or Cat. But there was still a disconnect between her and Adam.

That disconnect created a pit in her stomach as she finally knew from experience what it was like to force something that wasn't there. At least not yet, she had to tell herself. Because if she could find a way to connect with Adam, it meant it was possible for him to find a way to connect to his family. So, she breathed in deep and tried to relax. She tried to just live in the moment; because, as long as Alex didn't call with a problem, she was allowed to throw caution to the wind, and she tried to enjoy it.

She hadn't even lasted ten minutes without looking over at Cat. Truthfully, she'd intended to look at Carter and let his smile give her the courage to be herself like she had been every other time she'd been with Adam, but then her eyes had moved just a little too far north and locked on Cat.

The other woman's eyes were downcast when Kara looked over at her, but Cat shifted on the bench and then reached down for her bag. She pulled out a bottle of aloe vera and chose to focus her attention on that task instead of the laughter and s'more making going on next to her. Kara recognized it as the older blonde burying herself in work. Applying aloe vera wasn't exactly work, but it was a way to distract herself from whatever it was that she'd wanted to avoid.

When Cat turned toward the others and started to rub the aloe vera over her left arm and shoulder, she slowed her movements just before her eyes flicked up and met Kara's gaze. Green eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit and maintained eye contact for a few seconds longer, like she was trying to figure Kara out again, before Cat focused once again on applying the aloe vera. As soon as she was done, Cat dropped the bottle back into her bag and then slid it onto her shoulder as she stood.

“I think I’m going to wait in the car for a while,” Cat said.

“What? Why,” Carter asked as he looked up at Cat with wide eyes.

“You should stay,” Kara said. “Have a s’more. You haven’t even made _one_ yet. And that’s kind of what we’re out here to do.”

Cat paused in her movements and didn’t say anything for a moment, her eyes on Kara’s, until she finally said, “I know, but I’m a little worn out and sunburned, and I think this place is swarming with mosquitoes.”

“Cat,” Adam started to say before he shot up on his feet and then corrected himself. “Mom, please. Stay a little longer? We’ll make a few more s’mores, finish off the graham crackers at least, and then we’ll head back to the cabin. What do you say?”

“I—” Cat looked surprised, but not unhappy. She looked over the three of them—Adam, Carter, and Kara—with wide eyes as she appeared to consider it. Her gaze landed on Adam again and a few seconds passed before she managed to smile and say, “Okay.”

Cat dropped her bag beside the bench again and tugged at the bottom of her shorts—something she constantly did in her skirts at work—before she cleared her throat and turned to Carter as he offered a marshmallow.

“Thank you,” she quietly told Carter and stuck the marshmallow on a stick before she held it out and started to roast it. She looked up at Adam and held eye contact with him for a moment as she leaned into Carter’s side.

Kara felt a jolt of warmth, safety, _home_ as she watched Cat pulled back into her family. Cat and her boys. A mother called home, asked for by her sons even for something as small as making one or two final s’mores before they moved on to something else. She lit up as she watched Carter push Cat’s marshmallow just a little bit closer to the fire and she felt a buzz, like the one she got when she took flight, when she saw Adam rub Carter’s shoulder as his little brother helped their mom roast the marshmallow. And when Cat looked over Carter’s head and locked eyes with her, Kara melted with the marshmallow.

Cat’s eyes were so soft and appreciative and she mouthed, “Thank you.” It was just as it had been at the restaurant when she’d pushed Adam and Cat to talk after he’d first arrived in National City. Except that time, sitting fireside with her and both her sons, it felt different. It felt like _more_. And that was a dangerous thing to feel.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed to get another chapter done in a day! I would have waited to post this until I had even a little something written for the next chapter, but I figured it's been long enough since I updated this regularly and a double update in a single week might make up for that. :)

A few more s’mores turned into a one-woman trip to the waterfall at the end of the trail that they’d only seen for a fleeting moment before they went off toward the park to wait for Adam. In the day, it was beautiful. At night, it was glorious. In the moonlight, the water shined in a way it never would in the sun. As it rushed out over the cliff’s edge at the top and crashed down into the stream below, the sound was loud yet its effect was calming. There was a slightly stronger breeze with the temperature decrease that night and it carried a mist from the waterfall toward their perch on a long and wide porch-like structure for a better look at the waterfall.

Kara’s eyes slipped closed as she tilted her head back and breathed in deep through her nose. She let the feel of the mist and the smell of the water clear her mind and ease her tension and concern. She didn’t think about anything other than the waterfall and the way it felt as it washed over a majority of her senses. When she opened her eyes, she saw the twinkling stars above and almost smiled. But it wasn’t long before she felt the pain of all that she lost on her own star, her home planet that no longer resided amongst all the others that continued to burn bright, high above the atmosphere.

A tear slid down her cheek without warning and, seconds later, Cat’s voice jostled her from her sorrow.

“I’ve never seen anyone brought to tears by some stars.”

Kara cleared her throat and wiped the tear from her face. “Well, that’s probably because they don’t realize how precious stars can be. And how easily they can be snuffed out.”

“How easy is it?” Cat asked the question with a curious tone of voice, but there was something more calculated behind her words. There was another reason she was asking that had nothing to do with furthering the conversation.

“It takes time,” Kara corrected her statement. “But much less time than it takes to build things up.”

“Things like homes? Families?”

Kara turned her head and finally looked Cat in the eyes. Although Cat was obviously prying, Kara didn’t meet her eyes with anger or defiance. Instead, she looked at Cat with a semi-intrigued expression before she replied, “I suppose. I wouldn’t know any more about that than you would. Unless there’s something else NASA discovered recently that I haven’t read about.”

Cat heaved out a sigh and rolled her eyes as she placed a hand on her hip and then cocked it. She glared at Kara in a way that told the younger woman that Cat didn’t expect to let it go without a fight. As impatient as Cat was, however, she didn’t demand answers in that moment. She looked at Kara for just a little longer than was comfortable and then turned her body to face the waterfall before she stepped closer to the wooden guardrail. She put her free hand on the rail and braced herself as she stared out at the water.

Kara took a deep breath and sighed before a silence stretched between them. She hunched over and placed both arms on the rail in front of her with her focus back on the waterfall as well.

“You know, far be it for me to say anything bad about my son, but his behavior… It’s directly related to me. He shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“He apologized.”

“I don’t know that that’s enough.”

Kara frowned and looked at Cat again. “Are you telling me to get mad at him for being harsh earlier?”

“No, you don’t need to be mad. But you shouldn’t just forgive him so easily. It’ll give him the impression that that’s all he needs to do to get what he wants in your relationship.”

“Are you telling me this for your benefit or for mine?”

“Both. Look, I love my son, but I will not condone his misguided anger. Things are too fragile between him and myself, so I won’t try to parent him. I gave up that right when I decided I wasn’t ready to be his mother. But I can give you advice on how to handle it. Say you understand his frustration but that if he has a problem, he needs to talk about it. He can’t just lash out and expect a few words to fix the fallout of whatever his frustrations are.”

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? You were willing to butt in two months ago, and it gave him and I a chance to get to know each other. What makes what you did for those reasons any different than telling him you don’t want to be used as a punching bag for his mommy issues?”

Kara cringed.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Cat said. “I could phrase it differently, but what does it matter when it all means the same thing? He’s throwing tantrums and, while he has his reasons, he really just needs to tell me what he wants from me and tell you what he’d like from you. The sooner he does that, the sooner none of us will suffer for past transgressions.”

“You keep telling me this stuff, but you should really tell him,” Kara carefully replied.

“And that’s my point.”

Kara frowned and instinctively leaned in without consciously realizing she’d done it until she was already one step closer to Cat.

“You tell me things that you don’t tell Adam. I tell you things I don’t tell Adam. What does that tell you about us?”

“Us?” Kara’s eyes widened in pure panic. There wasn’t an “us” when it came to her and Cat. There was barely even a crush. There was…attraction and admiration, but it was all one-sided. Wasn’t it? Cat was just Kara’s boss and mentor and Kara was just her assistant and a young mind to mold, and most recently, her oldest son’s girlfriend.

“Yes, we come to each other with our concerns about Adam when we should just be honest with him. We’re each other’s buffer, a go-between, and while we think it makes things easier, it just creates more distance.”

“Are- Are you saying we should stop?” She didn’t know why she sounded so worried and hurt about that, but Cat had a point. Adam had been upset because she’d been Cat’s advocate and not his.

Cat looked over at her and stared. She stared for a long moment before she said, “It might be in everyone’s best interest.”

“Cat, I- You don’t mean that. You can’t mean that.”

“I don’t know what your attachment to this is, but you need to stick by him and not me. And I,” Cat took a deep breath and took a step away from the railing, “need to learn how to be more open with Adam. I need to complain less and be more willing to participate.”

“But…why can’t we do that without losing our- our friendship?” She licked her dry lips and gulped. She felt exposed referring to their previously unidentified connection as friendship. That word didn’t quite fit with what Kara felt and she feared that much was obvious by the way it came out. It felt like a coded message, a coded _confession_ , and she wasn’t sure she was ready for the backlash.

“We’re blurring the lines enough as it is,” Cat told her with a near emotionless tone, but Kara noticed the way the other woman gripped the rail just a little bit tighter with the hand that remained on the wooden surface. “You’re my assistant and now you’re my son’s girlfriend. That complicates things at the office, doesn’t it?”

“Well, maybe a little. You’ve definitely been nicer to me since I started seeing him.”

“Because if he sees or hears me acting like my usual self with you, he’ll never see me as anything other than the fire-breathing dragon lady he already perceives me to be and I’ll lose him again. I can’t let that happen. So, I think it’s best if we keep a little distance. That way, everything is very clear. Nobody gets confused. Nobody gets hurt.”

Kara stared with her mouth agape. She was seconds away from stuttering, but she didn’t get that far before Cat cleared her throat and let go of the rail.

“We should get back,” Cat quietly suggested, and then walked past Kara on her way back to the fire pit.

Kara watched the woman leave and felt a whole new sense of loss. She didn’t understand it, didn’t understand why her chest felt constricted by an invisible force or why Cat’s words seemed to affect her more than Adam’s earlier dismissal. But while Cat walked away to prevent anyone getting hurt, someone already was.

* * *

Less than an hour later, they’d finished the s’mores supply and made their way back to the cabin with Carter exclaiming chocolate and marshmallows were the best part of the day. He’d said he enjoyed the walk, but nothing compared to having sweets. Kara had been inclined to agree with him and it had been the only time after her conversation with Cat that had earned a genuine smile from her.

Tension set in back at the cabin, at least for Kara. Conversation had stopped and the day’s activities and drama had worn out the group. It also hadn’t helped that they hadn’t eaten anything substantial for most of the day. Takeout sat on the dining room table, unhealthy but so much quicker and less taxing than whipping something up after a long day. Even with the promise of pot stickers, Kara had sided with Cat when the other woman insisted on taking a shower before eating. Cat hadn’t even spared her a glance before disappearing into the bathroom, which stung, and made it that much easier for Kara to spend an extra ten minutes away from the pot stickers and behind her closed bedroom door after her own shower.  

She slipped on a charcoal gray sweatshirt and black shorts that were one of her most comfortable pairs. Her hair was still a little wet from her shower and fell over her shoulders in relaxed ringlets. She sat cross-legged on the bed with the lamp on the nightstand as her only source of light.

She picked at her cuticles where her hands rested in her lap and considered calling it a night instead of joining everyone for a real dinner. She wasn’t in the mood to sit at a table with a boyfriend she was recently uncomfortable around and a woman that decided their personal talks—at least about Adam—were over. She’d been hurt twice that day. The first time had been when Adam had yelled at her about inserting herself too far into his relationship with Cat and again when Cat wedged a painful amount of space between them. It hadn’t been long since their talk, but Kara already felt lost. It was like her job at CatCo was being threatened all over again because she wasn’t yet able to prove she wasn’t Supergirl, except the stakes felt higher with Adam at the root of everything. She didn’t just have a job or feeling of normalcy to lose. She had Cat to lose in a way much more torturous than no longer reporting to the woman’s office. One thing worse than being fired was having to see Cat every day and not be able to say or do anything even remotely outside the lines of professional problems.

Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, desperate to feel less alone in a cabin full of people she couldn’t talk about to her latest feelings. So, her eyes found her partially unpacked bag when she opened them and immediately thought of the suit she knew was folded inside. If she put the suit on, she’d be able to fly back to National City and see Alex. Maybe get a few training rounds in before she flew back to the cabin and buried her other half again.

The sound of chairs scrapping against wood floors and a few socked footsteps in the hallway and kitchen forced her to be more careful about her approach to any kind of plan that helped ease her ache.

She picked up her phone and hit the speed dial button reserved for her sister. After three rings, Alex answered.

 _“Hey, if you’re calling because Cat killed someone I can’t help her escape prosecution, even_ _working for the government,”_ Alex greeted. _“I’d make a useless fake lawyer.”_

“No, the only person she’s killing is me,” Kara mumbled.

_“Given your alien DNA, I highly doubt that.”_

Kara sighed and said, “Please tell me Supergirl’s needed.”

_“Not so far. Everything’s been surprisingly quiet. Spoiling for a fight, are you?”_

She sucked in a deep breath and tried, but ultimately failed, not to cry. “I need a distraction. I need- I need to hit something so I’ll stop being so emotional.”

 _“What’s wrong?”_ Alex immediately shifted into concerned big sister mode and sounded both worried and ready to beat someone up at the same time.

“I thought… I don’t know. I guess it’s stupid.”

_“Kara, whatever it is, just tell me. If it means something to you, it’s not stupid. And no matter what, I won’t judge you.”_

Kara sniffled and wiped under one of her watery eyes. “It _is_ stupid. I had a…a fight with Adam earlier, but that’s- He apologized, so there’s nothing to worry about that. But now…”

_“Now?”_

“She didn’t say I couldn’t come to her with stuff. She didn’t say we can’t still talk, but—”

 _“What did she do?”_ Alex sounded less worried then and readier than ever to pummel Cat for doing anything to upset Kara.

“She’s probably right,” Kara said more to herself than Alex. “No, I _know_ she’s right. I just- Do we really have to stop talking to accomplish this?”

_“Hello. Kara! How about you think less and explain more for someone who has no idea what’s going on there?”_

Kara sighed and said, “The argument with Adam… It-It’s been tough. I’m trying to help him get along with Cat—”

_“Still? Kara, it’s been two months and that’s almost all you’ve been doing. It’s not your place.”_

“That’s basically what Cat’s been saying since we got here.”

_“Wow. I never thought I’d see the day when Cat and I agreed on something.”_

“Yeah, hell has frozen over,” she said, flat and disinterested before she somewhat whined, “now what do I do about Cat?”

_“Um, nothing.”_

“What?”

_“I’ll admit, things are complicated when you’re dating the boss’ son.”_

“Because you’re such an expert with that scenario,” Kara sarcastically muttered.

_“My suggestion is to keep it simple. At work, she’s your boss and comes before everyone else. On vacation, she’s maybe second or even third on your list of priorities. The first should be your boyfriend. Unless Carter- That’s the kid’s name, right?”_

“Yes.”

_“Unless Carter’s life is in danger. He’s still a minor and, as far as I know, doesn’t know how to defend himself. Then he should totally be at the top of your list.”_

“I don’t know about _only_ when he’s in trouble. When Cat first told me about him, she didn’t oversell him at all. Carter is…something else. Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe him. He’s shy, but she’s smart. So smart. He has the brightest smile, too. It’s like the sun, I swear.”

 _“Kara? I think you’re praising the wrong son right now. What about Adam? The problems you’re having with him are why you called_. _”_

“Technically, I called because of Cat.”

_“You’re really not getting this, are you? Cat’s feelings aren’t important.”_

“Are mine?”

_“What? Of course they are.”_

“Then why is it okay for her to just…push me away? She’s been…my friend. And now she won’t even talk to me.”

_“Your friend? When has Cat ever been your friend?”_

“I don’t know. We just reached an understanding. Or something. I really don’t know. It just happened. Even before that, if I ever had any doubts I could just go to her and she’d have advice. I wouldn’t even have to ask. She’d just, sort of, knew.”

_“Why can’t you have that with Adam?”_

“I- I don’t know. It’s…easier with Cat.”

Alex snorted. “The only time I’d expect anyone to use the words ‘easy’ and ‘Cat’ in the same sentence is if they were referring to her sex life. Although, that’s probably an outdated opinion considering her age.”

“Hey!”

_“Seriously, you’re about to defend her? Is she standing right next to you or something?_

“No. She’s in another room. I just- What you’re saying is mean. It’s mean and it’s gossip. And no one’s business but Cat’s.”

_“I know you’re a nice person, but you seem to be defending Cat a lot. Like, an unusual amount.”_

“So?”

_“So, maybe you **do** want to take a step back. I’ll stop making jokes about Cat, but you’ve got to stop worrying about her. Start worrying about the person you came to the cabin with.”_

“I know I should probably take his side in any disagreements he has with her, but I don’t want to take sides. I want them to be a family.”

_“Okay, but, Kara? Constantly worrying about Cat and trying to make something happen that doesn’t seem to be **is** taking a side. Hers.”_

“But if they get along in the end, doesn’t that work in both their favors?”

_“And what if that doesn’t happen?”_

“Do you want this to fail?”

_“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just trying to prepare you for the possibility that things between Adam and Cat might not work out the way you hope.”_

“I should just give up because there’s a _chance_ this won’t work?”

_“I know that sounds callous, but just think about it. You’re pushing so hard for this to end happily and if it doesn’t then you’ll have spent all this time focusing on repairing their relationship while your relationship with Adam disintegrates.”_

“It’s not…disintegrating,” Kara tried to argue, but even to her own ears it sounded weak.

_“You’ve told me about Carter, asked about the situation with Cat, but you never once mentioned Adam for more than, like, a second without me bringing him up first. That doesn’t sound like a thriving relationship.”_

“So, you still agree with Cat. She and I have to stop talking to each other to make sure I don’t ruin things with Adam?”

_“Her plan seems a little drastic, but it sounds like she’s trying to do you a favor. And if her son really likes you, likes you enough to ask you on a weekend getaway, then she’s probably also helping him by pushing you away. Which means—”_

“Which means she’s trying to make things right,” Kara finished the sentence, her tone sad and quiet out of guilt. “That doesn’t exactly cheer me up, but it’s clear that she and I want the same thing. If this is how she wants to handle it then, I guess, I’ll try.”

 _“There you go,”_ Alex said somewhat cheerily, like she’d just given a pep talk for Kara to go out on the field and give it her all. _“Now if that’s all you need from me, you should probably get back to the others.”_

“You’re right. Okay, you’ll still call me if I’m needed?”

_“Of course.”_

“Thanks for the talk. Call you later.”

_“You better.”_

Just as she hung up, there was a knock at her door. “Hey, Kara, dinner’s getting cold,” Carter informed her. “I could have sworn you said you’d start twisting arms if you didn’t get your pot stickers ASAP when we picked up the food. You can’t do a lot of arm-twisting in your room.”

Kara immediately smiled and went to the door. She brightened even further when she saw his wide smile and ocean blue eyes. “I’d starve without you.”

“How will you ever repay me?” His expression went from sweet and innocent to not-so-secretly conniving.

Kara chuckled and ruffled his curly hair as she stepped out of the room. They walked down the hallway together and joined Adam at the table as he started to unpack the food. Cat appeared a few seconds later with similarly wet hair to Kara’s wearing a loose, black tank top and a pair of light gray jogger sweatpants with white, no-show socks. Kara was speechless in the other woman’s presence. It wasn’t the first time during their trip Cat had that effect on her. Cat usually had that effect on her, but she also usually wore tight dresses and leather. The casual look was just as attractive as the CEO and workout looks Kara considered herself lucky to witness.

The next thing Kara witnessed, however, was an arched brow expression from the woman she realized she’d been staring at for far too long. She cleared her throat and looked away to focus on the two containers of pot stickers Adam set out.

“Extra serving,” Adam announced with a smile. “Just for you.”

Kara smiled back, but her attention barely strayed from the food. “Yeeesss. Gimme, gimme, gimme.”

Ten minutes later, Carter and Adam stared at Kara with amusement as she finished off the last of her pot stickers. She beamed at them as she chewed. That was until she noticed Cat squinting at her with a put-off look.

“How is it you can finish off an entire serving of pot stickers all by yourself in ten minutes and still look like that,” Cat asked as her eyes roamed over Kara from head to chest. The table covered everything else, and Kara was thankful for that because she could barely stand the scrutiny of Cat’s eyes on only half of her body. She shuddered to think about the effect Cat would have on her if the older woman could see all of her.

She felt her cheeks warm and swallowed the remaining bite of a pot sticker before she answered, “I have a very fast metabolism.”

“You eat like you’ll never see food again,” Carter spoke up. “You can’t blame metabolism for that.”

Kara laughed and nodded. “Nope. I just really like food.”

Carter smiled broadly and replied, “I bet you believe in the five second rule, too.”

“Um, yeah. Why waste perfectly good food if it’s not ruined?”

“Cool,” Carter said with a hint of laughter.

“You better get that idea out of your head, young man,” Cat apprised him. “If I ever see you eating something off the floor…”

“Then I just won’t get caught,” Carter wittily replied.

Cat rolled her eyes and Kara laughed. The younger blonde reached across the table and tapped chopsticks with Carter like a high five.

“Children,” Cat grumbled.

Kara and Carter just laughed again then shared and traded food for the rest of dinner. Conversation was almost non-existent, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Not until Adam excused himself from the table to clear away the empty containers and used napkins. Then, it was just Carter, Kara and Cat at the table.

“I think I’m gonna go to bed,” Carter informed them as he grabbed his plate and started to follow in Adam’s direction.

“Don’t forget to take a shower before bed,” Cat gently reminded him. “You didn’t take one before dinner.”

“Not for lack of trying. Four people, one bathroom. Only two people took showers before the threat of enjoying a cold dinner and I’m looking at them.”

Kara laughed as she watched him join Adam in the kitchen. When she looked away from the boys, she had no intention of looking at Cat. Unfortunately, Cat was in her direct line of sight and her eyes found the other woman without even trying. Her smile faded as she stared into greenish-hazel eyes that weakened her the same way Kryptonite did, and yet she couldn’t look away.

For a moment, Cat couldn’t either. Time seemed to stand still in that moment and Kara was paralyzed. Kara thought she saw a flicker of something in Cat’s eyes, but couldn’t be sure because the older woman looked away just a few seconds later and acted as though nothing had happened.

Kara practically flinched when Cat broke eye contact, but Kara’s gaze remained fixated on Cat. She gazed at Cat like she’d gazed up at the stars earlier that night, a sense of sadness and longing that weighed on her. Even after Cat left the table, Kara felt it. It was a burden, _her_ burden, and one look at Adam reminded her why she’d carry it with her. For Cat. For a relationship with her son that Kara only seemed to complicate the longer she remained in the middle. Cat didn’t think she was useful as their buffer anymore, so Kara wasn’t going to be their buffer. She’d been useful to Cat for the last two years, even before she finally donned the suit and cape, and she wasn’t about to stop that streak anytime soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again! Finally. :) I've had a good chunk of this chapter finished and waiting for a proof read, but couldn't find the time to finish it. After recently moving for a new job, I found the inspiration and possibly the best schedule to write the rest of the chapter. Hopefully, I can get out another update soon, but it just depends on how busy and/or tired I am in the coming weeks. Plus, this isn't the only thing I'm working on and it's hard to keep up with multiple fics at once. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. Let me know what you think. :)

               Twelve miles on a river was like the walk from CatCo to Noonan’s for Kara. She easily could have rowed the canoe by herself with one hand and made it to their downstream destination much faster than their current speed. She probably even had the ability to breathe on the water and act like a motor, but she worked as a team with the three humans in the canoe with her and worked at an almost glacial pace along the water. Unlike the previous morning, they’d had more than a breakfast bar or some toast before setting off for the day, but that only seemed to make the Grants more sluggish. She wasn’t bored or frustrated that the trip was going to take most of the day, though. She actually enjoyed the experience and the warm, calm summer day. The only reason she even considered using her powers was so she could assist the others because, aside from Adam, they couldn’t keep up.

From her position in the first seat of the canoe, Kara checked on the others over her shoulder and watched Cat’s arms flex as the other woman strained herself to steer around a bend. With a tiny amount of help from her superhearing, she also heard Cat’s harsh and shallow breaths as the journey took its toll.

She heard a similar struggle from Carter who sat directly behind her. They’d been on the water for less than an hour and neither one had complained or asked for a break yet, so Kara kept her ears and eyes open for any alarming signs of fatigue. Until then, the group continued as they had been with two people rowing on the left side and two rowing on the right. Every four strokes, they switched sides unless Adam gave them other instructions and guided them through a turn or helped them keep the canoe straight.

Other than the sound of the water, birds chirping overhead and the occasional breeze rustling tree branches, Adam had been the only one to speak all morning. While Cat often worked in silence, Kara knew the woman to be a talker, so the quiet surprised her. The older blonde hadn’t even opened her mouth to mention the slowly rising temperature.

“So, I was thinking,” Adam said after the rushing water faded on their way downstream, “maybe we could extend this vacation. There’s still so much we can do out here. A weekend doesn’t really seem like a lot of time to cram it all in.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want,” Cat asked just as Kara sensed a lack of paddling.

Kara slowed her own rowing and looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, Cat awkwardly held her ore over the side of the canoe without letting it dip into the water. She appeared tense and unsure and, even though he couldn’t see her face, Adam could tell she wasn’t exactly excited about the idea.

Kara watched him deflate a little before he masked it with his usual flippancy and anger before he replied, “If you don’t think you can take the extra time off work, that’s fine. But maybe Kara and Carter want to stay.”

Kara frowned as she watched Cat’s eyes drop to her lap. The woman’s knuckles were white around her ore and her throat bobbed with a thick swallow of what could easily have been tears. Pain and guilt were obvious in Cat’s expression and there wasn’t much Kara could do to help. She gladly would’ve stepped in, tried to get Adam to speak in gentler tones and understand that nothing Cat said or did was because she didn’t want to spend time with them. Kara knew Cat well enough to explain to Adam that the woman wasn’t rejecting him, but one look at Cat made it glaringly obvious without Kara’s insight. If only Adam could have seen Cat’s face.

“I just wanted you to be sure you wanted _all_ of us to stay,” Cat quietly clarified. “I’m sorry my question wasn’t clear.”

Kara sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes when she exhaled. She could tell Cat was hurt, but Cat had found a way to communicate without complaining or raising her voice. Progress.

Kara smiled with a hint of pride as she looked at Cat and her expression almost brightened when Adam apologized, but Cat chose that same moment to look up. Their eyes locked immediately and Kara felt like a deer in headlights. Her smile vanished and her eyes popped wide open, mortified by being caught.

Cat’s expression was unreadable and Kara feared the worst. Even after two years and a superhero alter ego, Kara was still amazed that Cat always knew how to rattle and intimidate the Girl of Steel. More than once, she’d entertained the idea that the Queen of All Media should be the one wearing the cape.

“Carter and Kara are more than welcome to stay a little longer,” Cat said to Adam, but never took her eyes off Kara as she spoke.

The unreadable expression remained and the look in Cat’s unblinking eyes was intense as she held Kara’s gaze. Kara could have sworn she felt goosebumps on her arms and a tingle down her spine, but it was such a rare experience that usually needed adrenaline, a physical and arousing touch or both for it to occur.

When Cat finally looked away and set the ore on her lap before she turned to Adam, Kara released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d withheld. She finally dragged her eyes away from Cat for just a moment and saw Carter staring at her with curiosity. Kara’s cheeks heated in seconds and she had no doubt they’d taken on a pink tint.

“I’d also be interested in staying a few extra days,” Kara heard Cat say.

She quickly looked up and saw Cat’s full attention on Adam, her body twisted to face him more than she would have if she’d just looked over her shoulder. The older blonde’s knee bumped against her wooden seat bench in the canoe as it wobbled in choppier water during their approach to a small drop-off.

Kara turned around and looked straight ahead at the nearing hill. The canoe had been jostled a little to the right and was about to head downstream at an angle, which was ill advised. Without hesitating, Kara dipped her ore in the water on the left side of the canoe to straighten it out. She used the tiniest bit of superspeed to row tight and quick circles in the water that pushed the nose of the canoe so that it drifted back into the desired position. As she worked alone to course correct, which would have taken all four of them to do if Kara didn’t have powers, she overheard the rest of the conversation between Adam and Cat with normal hearing.

“It’d be nice if we spent the rest of the week together,” Adam confessed. “ _All_ of us.”

Kara smiled again just as the canoe tipped over the tiny edge and bobbed along temporarily rough water.

“Whoa,” Adam exclaimed before Kara heard an ore plop into the water. “That could have been dangerous. Thankfully, some of us were paying attention.”

With the canoe straightened out and an unobstructed path ahead, Kara looked back at Adam. She was instantly met with a smile and her own spread a little wider.

“Didn’t the woman that helped us with the canoe say something about food,” Carter asked.

Kara’s attention immediately diverted to him and her smile softened. “Are you hungry already? We’ve only been out here for half an hour.”

“Maybe for a snack,” Carter confessed with his signature lopsided smile.

Kara chuckled. “Well, I could eat all day long, so I’m not judging. I’m sure there’s a food stand somewhere nearby. We can take a break,” she said as she looked at Adam and then Cat for approval.

“Some water or lemonade would be nice,” Cat said by way of agreement. She spoke airily, casually, but Kara knew she was desperate for a few minutes to breathe.

When they reached the clearing, Kara almost leapt out of the canoe and didn’t wait for Carter or Cat to get out before she pulled the canoe further out of the water. She moved quickly enough that she forgot to use both hands, but Adam didn’t seem to notice her singlehanded success before Kara remembered herself. She grabbed the edge of the canoe with the other hand as well and tugged the front half of it onto the grassy shore.

Cat stepped out first and turned toward Kara, but stared at the canoe for a few seconds before locking eyes with her. Green eyes filled with curiosity and maybe a hint of speculation, but Cat didn’t ask any questions. She blinked and the look vanished as she stepped into the Kara’s personal space.

Kara took a step back and gasped like an idiot because Cat only stood that close to help Carter, who Kara bumped into as soon as she backed away from the other woman. Cat reached around Kara to give her youngest son a hand out of the canoe as he wobbled over the edge one shaky leg at a time. His feet knocked against the side on his way onto the grass. Kara stepped aside before she and Cat could bump hips and continued to watch them from a short distance. A moment later, when Carter had both feet on the ground, Kara noticed Adam climb over one of the bench seats before he confidentially followed his younger brother.

When Adam joined them on the grass, he took her hand in his just before Kara turned to face the rest stop, which looked only a little bit rougher than the ones found on the sides of the highways where gas stations were few and far between. Almost directly in front of them stood a food stand, one out of three in that particular clearing. All three of them reminded Kara of the concession stand at the Midvale High school football stadium. They were little more than shacks with counter space, hot plates and a few shelves for various store-bought snacks like chips and sour gummies. The stand closest to the shoreline advertised hot dogs and nachos. One of the other two stands a little farther back near the tree line had a sign for sandwiches. The final food stand made Kara’s mouth water with several topping options for funnel cakes.

Just off to the side, close enough to the water that allowed for a quick and foodless break, if desired, was a portable building with two doors on either end that signified the women’s and men’s restrooms. It was a little more upscale than some gross port-a-potty, but Kara wasn’t sure it was any cleaner. She didn’t bother to find out either and, instead, gazed longingly at the funnel cake stand.

“I think I’ll get a sandwich,” she heard Cat say with less disgust than usual. Kara smiled as she diverted her attention back to the other blonde just as Cat brushed her fingers through Carter’s hair and asked, “Would there be _any_ way I could convince you to have the same?”

“Not willingly,” Carter answered. “Can I get a hot dog? And a funnel cake! I’ve got to have a funnel cake, Mom.”

Cat sighed with little fanfare, as though she knew she’d already lost the fight before she’d even asked what he wanted. “One hot dog,” Cat agreed. “And you can have baked chips with a drink. No soda.”

Carter stared at her with hopeful brown eyes and asked, “What about the funnel cake?”

“Unless someone is willing to split it with you, Carter, I’d prefer it if you didn’t have all that fat and sugar.”

“Well, _you_ could share it with me,” he replied with a bright smile that anyone could see melted Cat like an ice cube on a blacktop in triple digit heat. “They’re really good. You should try it.”

Cat gently held his chin between her fingers and met his smile with an apologetic look. Kara and Carter saw the refusal before she spoke, so Kara instinctively stepped in.

“I’ll share one with you,” she happily offered. She pulled away from Adam and their hands disentangled when Kara stood beside the youngest Grant. “I can’t promise I’ll be a good sharer. My sister can tell you how greedy I get with my food and I _love_ funnel cakes, so you might have to stop me from eating your half.”

She adjusted her glasses, which had fallen down a bit, and looked up with a wide smile to match Carter’s. When she locked eyes with Cat, she was surprised to see the older woman staring back with a look of wonder and disbelief. Kara’s smile waned under Cat’s gaze, but didn’t disappear. She felt unsure as she awaited Cat’s approval, but didn’t frown or plead the way she normally did at the office. After a few seconds, Cat nodded and looked down at her purse while she retrieved her wallet.

Kara smiled at Carter as Cat dug out some money and the younger blonde held up her hand for a hive five. Carter hesitated, although continued to smile as he came to a decision, and slapped hands with her. She laughed and looked up again. Cat almost looked impressed that time, but her gaze never left Carter.

Cat offered a crisp twenty-dollar bill to Carter, but held it out of reach when he tried to take it. “Just _one_ ,” Cat reminded him.

“Promise,” Carter agreed.

Cat extended the cash toward him again and didn’t pull back when he grabbed it. As Carter headed toward the hot dog stand first, Cat’s gaze cut to Kara. “If you could eat three fourths of that fried batter abomination without him noticing, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

Kara’s smile almost spilt her face in half, which instantly received an expected eye roll from Cat. She turned to Adam as Carter got in the short line for hot dogs and asked, “What about you? Think you’ll be tempted to overload on sugary goodness?”

“I think I’ll stick to a healthier choice,” Adam answered with his own warm smile. “A sandwich is probably best. High sugar or caffeine intake increases the chances for heat exhaustion. At least for me.”

Cat balked at the information. Kara blinked and the other woman suddenly had a hand wrapped tightly around Kara’s arm. “I will buy you a second funnel cake if you make sure Carter only gets two bites of the one you share.”

Kara laughed again and placed a hand over Cat’s before she replied, “He’ll be fine. It’s half a funnel cake. _One_ funnel cake. And if he starts feeling dizzy or hot later, he can take a break from rowing. We can pick up the slack. They also sell water here, so we can get a few extra bottles. Just in case.”

Cat remained stiff for another moment before she deflated like a popped balloon. The older woman detached from Kara and looked like she was about to apologize for grabbing her, but stopped and furrowed her brow when she saw Kara’s arm. Kara’s _unmarked_ arm.

After all the lame excuses and bad lies she’d attempted with Cat in the past, it was much easier for Kara to hide her secret identity if she ignored the problem as though there wasn’t one, as though Cat’s nails—as dull as they were—wouldn’t have left noticeable red indentions even if Kara’s skin wasn’t impenetrable.

She sucked in a deep breath and smiled wider while she looked at Adam and then Cat. “Sounds like you both want sandwiches. I like Carter’s choices, so I’m gonna stick with him.” She didn’t wait for a response from either of them before she dashed over to Carter and left them alone. The moment she joined him in line, they moved forward with only two people in front of them before they could order.

“You’re getting a hot dog,” Carter asked with disbelief.

“Yeah. I’m actually thinking about getting two. I _really_ like food.”

Carter smiled brightly enough that Kara didn’t doubt he was also silently laughing. Her own smile widened in response.

“You know, your mom doesn’t always have boring and healthy stuff like sandwiches,” she told him. “She’s asked for burgers before.”

“Yeah, I know. She also hogs the popcorn whenever we watch movies together. She likes it buttery.”

“That’s awesome,” Kara said somewhat reverently. “Maybe we have a chance to get her to try a bite of funnel cake. What do you think?”

“No way. She hates anything you can get at a carnival. Cotton candy, candy apples, funnel cake.”

Kara gasped dramatically and asked, “What about churros?”

“Just as appalling to her as cotton candy,” Carter informed her. “According to her, cotton candy is just a fluff ball of dyed sugar and churros are overly glorified cinnamon sticks not meant for direct comsumption.”

“Well, we can at least change her mind about funnel cakes.”

“If you can do that, Supergirl’s got nothing on you.”

Kara laughed and the couple ahead of them stepped aside with their food. She and Carter stepped up to place their orders and Kara encouraged him to speak for himself, which he did. As awkward as it was, stutter and all, Carter had expressed what he wanted to a stranger and that usually took continued to exposure to a person before he opened up in any way.

A few minutes later, they waited in line for their beloved funnel cake with plates of hot dogs in their hands.

“Cherries, chocolate, or the classic powdered sugar?” Kara asked as they inched along in line.

“They’re all so good,” Carter groaned.

“I agree. Maybe we can get them to put cherries on one half and powdered sugar on the other.”

“And abandon chocolate? I can’t.”

“Well, I’ve never known them to put all three toppings on one cake, but maybe we can persuade them. Just turn on your charm.”

Carter rolled his eyes with a shy and dimpled smile before he replied, “That sounds amazing. I’d pay extra for that.”

“Hopefully, your mom feels the same way,” Kara teased and nudged his arm with her elbow.

When they joined Cat and Adam at a picnic table after getting what they wanted, they found out Cat didn’t mind the extra charge. She wasn’t thrilled about their overloaded dessert, though.

“Did you ask them to spatter on _all_ the available toppings,” Cat asked with a look of near horror directed at the funnel cake Kara set down on the table between herself and Carter.

“Yeah,” Carter happily confirmed.

“We couldn’t settle on just one, so we got them all,” Kara explained. “I’ve had half one topping and half another whenever I share with my sister, but this is so much better.”

“How would you know? You haven’t eaten any of it yet,” Cat replied, her eyes still focused on the food.

“Because funnel cake is always good,” Kara answered before she divided it into four sections, two of each topping combination.

Carter didn’t hesitate and picked up the spare plastic fork before Kara even finished cutting into the funnel cake. He sliced at one of the two sections on his side of the plate and enjoyed a bite of the chocolate and powdered sugar piece.

“You should try it,” Kara suggested as she took a bite of her share of the cherry and powdered sugar combination. She moaned and tipped her head back. “So good.”

Adam quietly laughed and put a hand on her knee under the table. Kara sharply inhaled and released the surprised breath in a puff of laughter seconds later when Cat’s green eyes cut through her like Kryptonite. That one look from Cat, as unreadable as it seemed, was more powerful than Adam’s touch.

And then Cat licked her lips.

Kara’s leg twitched under Adam’s hand as she watched Cat look down at the funnel cake again. The younger blonde briefly closed her eyes and waited just a second before she took her chance. “It’ll be even better than your favorite cupcakes.”

Cat’s eyes flicked up to stare at her again with that intense look, but it was easier to decipher then. Cat glared at her like Kara had just shared a huge, personal secret with the other woman’s sons. “I only allow myself those cupcakes once a month and I highly doubt there’s anything better,” Cat nearly growled.

Kara could handle Grumpy CEO. She gave Cat a warm and peppy look once the Lusting Woman was less present. “It’s better,” she encouraged before she cut another piece of her portion of the cherry and powdered sugar. She held out her fork to Cat and waited with baited breath and a smile for the woman to accept it.

Cat huffed and rolled her eyes, but took the fork from Kara.

Their fingers brushed and Kara finally exhaled with some relief and a surprising amount of longing and excitement. When the food disappeared inside Cat’s mouth, Kara felt her skin tingle and buzz like it did whenever she flew. She licked her lips and checked that her feet were still on the ground before Cat hummed her own praise for the food. Kara instantly squirmed and slid away from Adam on the bench. She glanced at him when she moved just out of reach, which caused his hand to fall away from her, and saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes.

Instead of focusing on that, however, Kara replayed Cat’s hum in her mind again and again with her always confusing feelings toward Cat. Her body warmed and she twitched below her waist as the hum on repeat turned into a sultry moan in her head. Just the thought of it made her shiver, even under the heat of the yellow sun. Distracted by the warped version of events, Kara stared too long and only noticed that fact when Cat snatched a piece of funnel cake out of her hand.

“Hey!”

“You weren’t eating it,” Cat said with a shrug before she popped the bite sized piece into her mouth. “They’re a close second to my favorite cupcakes, and that makes them too delicious for you to just sit there with it seconds from slipping out of your fingers.”

Kara tried to contain her amusement and failed. She smiled with pursed lips as part of her failed attempt and Cat, with a satisfied gleam in her eyes, seemed unable to look away.

Seconds later, Adam stood up and dropped his balled up napkin onto his empty plate. “We should probably get back out there. It’ll start to heat up the later in the day it gets and the longer we take a break, the harder it’ll be to get up and keep up our motivation. Wouldn’t want to be too exhausted to finish the twelve miles before sunset, would we?”

Kara smiled up at him and nodded, but she also noticed his smile didn’t reach his eyes. It grabbed Kara’s attention just as quickly as it disappeared when Adam turned away from the group and headed back to the canoe. She followed him and looked over her shoulder to see Cat and Carter close behind her.

When they pushed off the shore and drifted a little farther down the river, silence befell the group again. Awkward and unsure, Kara stiffened and gripped her ore tightly enough to splinter the wood. She eased up on it and took a moment to breathe. Unfortunately, in that same moment, they rounded a corner with too much difficulty for the group to handle.

Powerless to do anything ‘super’ so suddenly without exposing her secret, Kara tried to discreetly course correct like she had done earlier. Her ore only cracked again under the pressure. She did all she could, which wasn’t much, and widened her stance while she stayed in her seat. Someone else wasn’t as composed, though, and tried too hard to help make adjustments.

The canoe wobbled and Carter and Cat shouted and gasped in shock. At least one of them, possibly both, grabbed onto the edge of the canoe. Kara looked over her shoulder and immediately noticed Adam on his feet. He hovered above his bench seat, barely standing, but standing nonetheless. When he tried to steer them away from the jagged rocks to their left, Kara panicked.

“Adam, don’t!”

“We’re gonna capsize,” he yelled back.

No sooner than the words left his mouth did they hit the rocks despite Adam’s efforts. The canoe tipped heavily to the right and everyone slid to the edge while Adam tried to avoid leaning over in the same direction. His efforts, yet again, caused the canoe to wobble quickly and harshly. In an instant, Cat lost her grip and went overboard with a shriek.

“Oh, God,” Adam said.

“Mom!” Carter started to rise, but Kara immediately stilled him with a hand on his arm.

Less than a second later, Cat broke through the water’s surface with a gasp and then several coughs.

“Are you okay?” Carter sat on the edge of his seat when he asked, but restrained himself from standing.

“I’m sorry,” Adam quietly said where he continued to hover, partially standing, at the back of the canoe.

“I’m soaking wet and swimming in unfiltered water, but I’ll be fine,” Cat answered when her coughing subsided.

Cat ran a hand over her drenched hair and wiped the water away from her eyes and nose before she swam back to the canoe with a few graceful breaststrokes. She clutched the edge of the canoe with both hands, but hesitated to pull herself out of the water. “Carter? Do you think you can help me up?”

His face twisted in confusion and he asked, “Can’t you do it yourself?”

“If I do, I might tip everyone else over,” Cat explained before she reached out for him with one hand.

In seconds, Carter accepted the answer and started to reach for her hand when Kara came up with a wild idea. She stopped Carter from taking Cat’s hand and smiled, seconds away from laughing.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Kara said.

She removed her glasses and set them down near her feet. She glanced at Cat again to see a flicker of awe that disappeared when Kara slowly stood up just enough to give herself clearance over the side of the canoe. Determined not to think about what the look meant, she dove into the open water like she would a swimming pool and popped out within seconds to see the excitement on Carter’s face. She laughed.

“What is this, a pool party?” Cat kept one hand on the canoe, but had angled herself to face Kara.

“I’m sure it’s not as enjoyable as a visit to your beach house, but why waste a fun opportunity?”

Carter chuckled and, still smiling, looked at Adam. It only lasted a couple seconds before he twisted forward again and carefully jumped off the canoe with a joyous shout.

The canoe shook a little, but not enough to flip over. When Carter came back up, he laughed again and brushed his curly hair, weighed down and straighter after immersing it in the river, away from his eyes.

“This is great,” he exclaimed.

Kara smiled at him and doggy paddled closer to the canoe, and Carter, before she looked up at Adam. “What about you? Feel like joining us?”

A hint of fascination monopolized his features as he looked between the three of them in the water and his lips quirked into a smile. “I would, but someone’s got to steer this thing. Next time.”

Kara continued to smile and nodded her understanding when Cat responded with, “More fun for us.” Kara didn’t even have time to flinch before Cat splashed water in her face. Kara sputtered, completely taken by surprise with a mouth full of river water, and coughed until she could laugh.

Carter laughed with her, and she saw Cat smirk at her when she wiped vision-blurring droplets away from her eyes.

“Mom, that was _rude_ ,” Carter said, and emphasized the last word by splashing more water at Cat.

Cat seemed more prepared than Kara considering she didn’t cough nearly as much and then went right back to splashing water.

Kara laughed as she watched mother and youngest son battle it out with smiles and laughs of their own, but Kara’s laughs briefly came to a stop when the Grants suddenly teamed up against her.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Cat and Carter only responded with laughter.

Kara splashed back, but only applied a fourth of the power she could have behind her attacks just until she moved close enough to Carter to place her hands on his shoulders and push down. Mindful, as always, of her solar powered strength, she dunked him and immediately let him up.

“Not cool,” Carted replied with a smile.

The splashes stopped, but Carter had other plans for retaliation. He jumped and lunged at her to get just enough leverage. He tried to dunk her, but failed at first because her of superpowered resistance. 

She laughed when she realized what he wanted to do and allowed him to do it when he tried again with twice as much effort, but not before Cat made a pointed comment.

“Someone’s been eating her Wheaties.”

It was the last thing Kara heard clearly before Carter submerged her.

Capable of holding her breath for a while, Kara faked a struggle and let Carter hold her under for a few seconds. When he backed off, she sprang above the water with a gasp as though he’d really had her and then started laughing after she pretended to catch her breath to show that she was okay.

“If you’re done in the splash zone over there, meet me at the shore half a mile down,” Adam suggested.

“And you’ll stay in your seat if we do?” Kara smiled brightly at him and arched a teasing brow.

Adam chuckled and replied, “Yeah, I’ll be good. I won’t stand up in the canoe again.” He then sat down, like an act of good faith, and started paddling to the next patch of land with food stands and restrooms. “I just got a little nervous and made a first-timer’s mistake.”

Kara started to head toward land as well when she heard another loud splash and turned around to see Carter blindside Cat by spraying her with more water as a distraction. As soon as Cat closed her eyes again the onslaught, Carter made his move and leaped onto her like a lemur. He dunked her in an instant with a laugh and a proud smile on display, but he let her go only seconds after her head went below the surface.

When she came back up, Kara couldn’t help but stare. Cat flipped her hair to get it out of her face and several strands wrapped around and clung to her neck. The older woman swiped a hand over her eyes and nose, which wasn’t a new sight for Kara, but Cat looked magnificent doing something so average and plain. The woman could command an entire company, intimidate the wealthiest and most untouchable of people like herself or even those with a higher status, but seeing Cat without makeup and playing in a river like she wasn’t the most powerful person in National City stole Kara’s breath. It wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last.

“Hey, Carter.” Adam, thankfully, grabbed Kara’s attention before she could stare too long. “I’ll race you.”

“You’re on,” Carter replied just before he hurried off to beat the canoe back to the shore.

Alone again with Cat, Kara refused to look back at her for fear of more elongated staring. Cat didn’t make it easy to avoid her, however, and swam up next to Kara.

A little out of breath, Cat said, “I’m getting too old for this.”

“Not a chance,” Kara instinctively and firmly assured her, unflappable in her belief. She kept her eyes on the boys and added, “Age has never slowed you down and, until you’re on your death bed so many, _many_ years from now, it never will.”

 “You always see the best in me, Kara.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You _are_ the best.”

Cat sighed. “I thought we talked about this.”

“Complimenting you has nothing to do with Adam or my relationship with him.”

“It will.”

Finally, Kara looked at her and said, “Miss- _Cat_ , I can give you space like you asked, but I won’t pretend you’re anything less than the amazing woman you are.”

“Putting me on a pedestal is half the problem,” Cat explained. “If you looked at me more like Adam does—”

“What would that accomplish? You punish yourself enough for giving him up and he’s determined not to let you forgive yourself just yet, so if you want me to hate you or just be angry with you? That I can’t do. I _won’t_.” Wanting to have the last word that time, Kara didn’t wait for a reply and swam after Carter and Adam. She relied on her superhearing after a few seconds and listened until she heard Cat follow.

When she reached the shore, Kara took a moment to relax and waited for the other woman’s arrival. She offered a hand that Cat, after a split-second’s hesitation, accepted and helped the woman onto her feet in the shallow water. Just as Cat tried to let go, Kara squeezed her hand and drew the other blonde’s attention back to her instead of the canoe.

While Carter climbed in, Kara tried to convey every promise and certainty in one look at Cat. If Cat wanted to make things difficult, she needed to know Kara wouldn’t back down. Not after a two-year struggle with surprising and subtle rewards that meant so much to her. Then, with Cat’s hand still in hers, Kara stepped forward and helped Cat into the canoe.

Once both feet were inside, Cat turned to Kara and gave her a look of acknowledgement and acceptance. Seemingly as confirmation, Cat squeezed her hand back and then slackened her grip.

Kara gulped and let go. She hoped it meant things would be easier, even though Cat seemed content to maintain the request for more space that Kara could hardly bear.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter wasn't where I thought this was going, but it happened. I don't think it changes too much for anything coming up and hopefully all - or maybe just some - of you like it, too. Let me know. :)
> 
> Also, the inspiration for Sarah comes from Sarah Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen. This Sarah's just a bit less shy.

Kara and Carter jumped out of the SUV with big smiles while, behind them, Cat and Adam moved slowly and quietly toward the cabin. Dwindling sunlight shimmered through the tree branches as they danced in the early evening breeze. She felt like floating when she smelled the pine just as the breeze tickled her skin.

“That was the coolest thing I think we’ve ever done,” Carter exclaimed. “First, you got Mom to try funnel cakes and then we jumped into a river! We’ve never had fun like this.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Too focused on him instead of their surroundings, she missed the sound of someone approaching and failed to save Carter from a collision. He and the other person smacked into each other and almost fell over while a frisbee thunked onto the ground near their feet.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” a young girl with brown hair and a nervous smile said as she pulled away from Carter. She awkwardly reached out again and adjusted his shirt, which was askew from the impact, before she explained, “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Totally my fault. Are you okay?”

“U-uh, I, um, ye-yeah?” His voice cracked on the last word.

The girl chuckled. “Is that the truth or a question?”

“I- It’s- Um, I-I’m okay.”

The girl’s smile brightened before she stuck out her hand. “Good. I’m Sarah.”

Carter seemed to forget how to breathe, but he didn’t forget his manners as he shook Sarah’s hand. “C-Carter.”

Sarah shook her head and let go of his hand but continued to smile at him. She glanced up at Kara and waved and then told Carter, “I’m staying next door.” She hitched a thumb over her shoulder at the cabin closest to theirs just a short distance down the unpaved road. “I haven’t seen you here before. Did you just get here?”

“A couple days ago,” he quietly answered.

“Cool. Ever been here before?”

Carter didn’t even speak then, just shook his head and briefly, shyly, tucked his chin toward his chest.

“Figures. I would have definitely remembered you if you’d been around before now.” Her smile curled into something a little flirtier, in Kara’s opinion, before she shrugged and blushed. “So, maybe…you’d want to go to a movie or something? Get more comfortable with the area? Maybe, if you do, you’ll want to come back more often.”

Kara heard a sharp gasp behind her and turned to see Cat, with a hand pressed over her heart, and Adam watching the exchange. When Carter started to stutter again, Cat stepped toward him and Kara instructively blocked her path while she turned to face Carter again.

“I, uh- That- You- A date?”

“Or just two people hanging out,” Sarah offered with an amused look. “No pressure. But…you are cute.”

“Sarah!” The girl looked over her shoulder at a woman, who Kara assumed was her mother, attempting to call her back to the other cabin.

Sarah held up her index finger in “wait a minute” gesture and focused on Carter again. “Up to you if you want to go. There’s a theater about ten minutes away. There’s an arcade inside, too, if that’s more appealing to you.”

“Wha- Uh—”

Sarah chuckled again and stopped Carter’s sputtering. You know where to find me. Knock on my door if you’re interested.” With that, Sarah bent down and retrieved her frisbee before she bounced away with so much confidence.

“Wow,” Kara said under her breath. At least, she thought she had, but even humans without superhearing seemed to hear it.

Carter spun around so fast to face the three of them that Kara prepared herself to catch him by the shirt if he moved too suddenly and slipped. Thankfully, he didn’t.

Instead, he turned beet red and bolted like a startled horse. He disappeared inside the cabin in the same amount of time it took Cat to call out his name with concern. Cat separated from the group after that and went after him first. Kara didn’t hesitate to follow close behind.

Inside the cabin, Kara quickly noticed Carter’s bedroom door was the only one closed. She brushed past Cat and jogged, at a human pace, to beat Cat to the door and checked in on him with her superhearing without noticeably intruding. Cat didn’t exactly show the same courtesy, but—to her credit—she didn’t open the door and barge in either.

“Carter? Are you okay?”  He didn’t respond, so she added, “Can I come in?”

“No,” he said immediately.

Cat looked wounded and took half a step back from the door. She took a deep breath and moved forward again with stronger determination. “Sweetheart, if you’re upset you should talk about it. It’s not healthy to keep things bottled up.”

“You do it all the time!”

“Yes, and I’m not much of a role model, am I?”

“I still think owning our own company that you built from the ground up and being a single mother on top of that is pretty impressive,” Kara blurted out, because she just couldn’t help herself.

Cat glared at her.

“Is that Kara?” Cater sounded shy again, but also hopeful.

“Yeah, it’s me,” she replied as she instinctively touched a hand to the closed door.

“I’ll talk to you,” he said. “I think…I think I can talk to you.”

Kara looked over at Cat with a panicked expression. Cat’s glare vanished in a heartbeat, one that Kara heard quicken when they locked eyes, and the older woman seemed hurt and relieved at the same time.

“Well? You heard him,” Cat said with an edgy tone Kara recognized as a defense mechanism. “Talk to him.”

Kara nodded more for her own benefit than Cat’s and then looked at the doorknob when she asked, “Can I come in then?”

A moment passed before she heard a very quiet, shaky, “Okay.”

Slowly, Kara opened the door and slipped inside. She blocked Carter from view as she did and then shut the door behind herself. When she made eye contact with him from across the room, saw him sitting nervously on his bed with wide and uncertain eyes, Kara exhaled and started her careful approach. She stopped in front of the bed but didn’t sit and then rubbed her palms down the sides of her shorts as though they were sweaty, which they weren’t because of alien DNA, but she didn’t know what to do or say.

“So,” she awkwardly started, “ _are_ you okay?”

He stared up at her with his big, brown eyes like a lost puppy for a long moment and then shook his head. “I’m…embarrassed.”

Kara nodded just as Carter looked down at his feet. “The girl? Sarah?”

“Yeah. I…I couldn’t even talk. Who freezes up like that? That’s- I sounded so stupid.”

“What? Hey, no.” Kara took a breath and then sat down next to him before she said, “You were nervous. And she didn’t seem to mind it.”

“She laughed at me.”

“I don’t think she meant it in a mean way. She also said you’re cute.”

“I can’t do this. I’m…I’m too weird to make friends.”

“You’re not weird, Carter.”

“Really, because I have a hard time talking to strangers and it’s not just an introvert thing. I’m on the spectrum, Kara. I’m not just a nerd, I’m a nerd with limitations.”

“I don’t see it that way.”

Carter scoffed.

“I’m serious,” she insisted. “You only limit yourself by thinking you’re less than anyone else. You’re different, not weird.”

“Different isn’t always a good thing.”

“Maybe not, but…there’s nothing wrong with you.”

He shook his head and scooted away from her. “Even if that were true—”

“Which it absolutely is.”

 “I don’t… I can’t… I’ve never been on a date. And I haven’t gone to the movies with a girl who isn’t my mom even as friends. I don’t…have a lot of those.”

Kara’s heart broke for him a little bit in that moment. “Is that… Is that what this is about? You want dating advice?”

His eyes snapped to hers and pleaded with her to help him.

Kara stuttered and flapped her mouth like a fish out of water without actually saying anything other than distressed sounds until she finally managed to ask, “Are you sure you don’t want to talk to your mom about this?”

“You know what she’s like. You’ve seen her. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Even when she doesn’t get what she wants, she’s never bothered by it or even disappointed. She’s the most powerful person in National City aside from Supergirl. She can date anyone she wants, dump whoever she wants, be dumped by anyone she wants, and she’ll be just fine. Better than fine, even.”

“Oh, Carter.” She flashed him a smile she hoped looked more reassuring than it did pitying because she really didn’t pity him at all. She just didn’t know how to proceed, but she had to try. “Your mom- She’s…she’s so strong. You know it, I know it, and she definitely knows it, but…she’s not infallible. And she does get hurt.”

“Maybe with Adam, but that’s different.”

Kara chortled. “Not just with Adam. It’s not my place to tell you about all the times I’ve seen her at her lowest, or near lowest anyway. I don’t think I’ve seen her at rock bottom, actually. Anyway, she’s your _mom_. She’s not going to show you her bad days. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have them, though.”

“So, you’ve- You’ve seen her on her bad days?”

“Bad moments, but yeah. She keeps it together even when she’s falling apart, but I’ve seen her bothered. But the most important thing is, whether she’s ever had a bad day in her life, she’s your mom and she’ll probably have much better advice for you than I do.”

“Uh, she wrote the ‘lighthouse technique.’ Do you really think that’s better than anything you could say?”

Kara blushed. “Oh my god. Please tell me you haven’t read that. So much innuendo for a such a sweet soul like you.”

Carter smiled and exhaled on a quick, soft laugh. “No, I haven’t read it. I read her articles, not her books. Doesn’t mean I haven’t heard about it. The abridged version. Without innuendo.”

Kara sighed with immense relief. “Good. That’s good. Okay, lighthouse technique aside, she’d probably tell you to be yourself.”

Carter rolled his eyes and groaned.

“It’s not bad advice,” Kara said.

“It’s lame, and such a mom thing to say. No one wants to hang out with me, especially girls. They want someone more like…Adam.”

“What?” She laughed a little.

“He likes nature and exercise and he acts cool when he’s not being a jerk to you and my mom. But being a jerk seems to impress girls, so maybe he’s got the right idea.”

“Okay, no. Nope. Bad boys are a phase. Some girls stay in bad relationships, but most girls grow up and find out what they really want is a guy that listens and cares. They want someone they can depend on. With a cute smile and huge heart and sometimes they’re also nerds like this one smart, amazing fourteen-year-old I know.” She gently elbowed him in the arm and made him smile. “Not jocks or jerks or millionaires, not that Adam is any of those things. He’s not. He’s athletic, maybe, but I wouldn’t say he’s a jock. And he’s definitely not the other two.”

“You- You really think I’m not so bad? That…maybe I have a chance to at least be friends with her?”

“I think you can do anything. I also think anyone would be lucky to have you in their life. I know I am.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No. I really mean it.”

He blushed, and his lips twitched until he smiled and ducked his head, shy as ever.

“So, you think your mom’s so awesome, do you?”

“Don’t tell her. She’d get all misty eyed and want a hug, which I’d be fine with, but I’m already freaking out about this movie invitation. I don’t want to look or feel even dorkier.”

“I get it. I only mentioned it because you’re more like your mom than you’ll admit. In the best ways, in case you were worried.”

“Thanks,” Carter said with a slightly disbelieving laugh.

“You know what that means?”

“That I’m turning into my mother? And no one wants to turn into their parents?”

“No, it means that you have her strength. And her initiative and her heart. She’ll deny that last part and say you have way more heart than she does, but it’s a lie. You just wear yours on your sleeve more than she does.”

“So…what does that mean for the movies?”

“It means, you’re going to be yourself and you’ll be just fine. No matter what happens.”

“You know that for a fact?”

“I do.”

Carter looked her over for a few seconds and started to make Kara nervous. Then he said, “You like her, don’t you?”

“Who? Your mom? Of course. She’s my boss and…occasionally my friend. I think. Well, she makes me feel better and more assured when I’m lost, at least.”

He furrowed his brow like something about what she said wasn’t convincing, but he eased up a moment later. “That’s good. My mom could use a friend. She knows a lot of people, but they’re not really her friends. She hasn’t had too many. Not for a while.”

“Right. Uh, well, if you’re feeling better, we should probably get out of here and show your mom you’re okay. She’s probably still listening at the door with baited breath until she can see for herself that you’re fine.”

Carter smiled again and agreed. “Yeah, I know. She’s good like that.”

“She is,” Kara said with a smile to match Carter’s.

They stood up together and Kara slung an arm around Carter’s shoulders as they walked toward the door.

“Thanks,” Carter said and then looked up at her to show her that beautiful smile of his.

“Anytime.” She squeezed him closer for a moment and then paused when they reached the door. “You’re gonna be okay. And if you’re not, I’m here. So is your mom. You’ll never be alone. Promise.”

She pulled open the door just before Carter wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.

“You’re the best,” he said.

Kara stood frozen in the doorway with her eyes on Cat’s because the other woman stood equally frozen in the hallway with a shocked expression much like the one she’d displayed the last time Carter had hugged her. When he loosened his grip, Kara dropped her arm from around him and he stepped between her and Cat.

“I’m okay, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you. I will next time. I was just…embarrassed. It’s easier to talk to someone who’s not your mom sometimes.”

“Especially when they’re an awkward nerd like you,” Kara supplied.

“Yeah,” Carter agreed with that special smile of his that could compete with Rao’s light before he slipped past them and headed toward the kitchen. “So, what’s for dinner?”

Kara laughed as she watched him go, but bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot when she locked eyes with Cat again. “That…was okay, right? I mean, you told me to—”

“Yes. It’s fine. I… Thank you. Whatever you said seems to have worked. I’m…glad he had someone to confide in.”

Cat stiffly turned away and started to follow Carter to the kitchen.

“Wait,” Kara blurted out louder than she meant to, and gently grabbed Cat’s forearm. She let go as soon as Cat stopped moving away from her and let Cat turn back around on her own. “Carter thinks the world of you, in case you didn’t know. You’re like a superhero to him. And he didn’t want to admit any failings, which…is a lot like someone _else_ I know.”

Cat hummed but didn’t seem entirely pacified, and then wordlessly turned away to continue toward the kitchen.  

Kara sighed and looked down at the floor before she joined the Grants in the kitchen.

“Chicken or beef?” Cat asked when caught up with Carter.

“Chicken,” Carter replied.

Adam slowly, hesitantly, walked up to the island from the living room and met Kara’s eyes with a look that made her feel like she should walk on eggshells around him.

“Is stir-fry okay with everyone?” Cat’s question gave Kara the perfect excuse to break eye contact just as his stare made her want to hole up in her room for the night and avoid conversation.

“Yeah,” they all answered in unison, but Kara choked on the word and it came out broken and softer than the boys’.

Cat looked between them and arched her brow when she met Kara’s gaze again. She held Kara’s eyes for a moment and then went about searching the cabinets for dishes, utensils and plates.

“I can help with that,” Kara offered several seconds later when Carter took a seat on one of the stools at the counter and Adam retreated to the couch.

Cat banged a pan down onto the stove in response and looked over her shoulder with a not-too-thrilled expression. “It’s stir-fry. It’s not a huge undertaking. Once the chicken’s cooked, it takes less than ten minutes to finish up.”

“Okay, so…why don’t I make it and you can take a shower first?”

Wrong thing to say.

Cat faced her and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that your way of saying I stink?”

“Wh-what? No! I-I would never. I just thought you might not want to wait in line for the bathroom after dinner.”

Carter laughed into his hand.

Cat rolled her eyes. “Fine. Carter, make sure she cooks the chicken all the way. None of us need or want food poisoning.”

“You don’t trust me to know the difference between raw and done?”

“I’ve never seen you cook nor have I eaten anything you’ve prepared, so no. I don’t trust you with my food. Carter, on the hand, knows what to look for because I taught him a few basics.”

“You teach him how to sew, too,” Adam rhetorically asked just loud enough to be heard but not loud enough that he necessarily meant to be heard.

“Everyone should know how to cook,” Kara said with a scrunched brow and a frown.

“Yeah, you know what? You’re right. I’m sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry. It seemed like he just wanted to avoid a fight. He didn’t even look at Carter, or anyone, when he spoke and then draped his arms on the back of the couch before he rested the back of his head on it, too.

Kara shook her head and stepped closer to the stove with an open hand. “I promise not to make you sick,” she quietly said to Cat with a smile.

Cat reluctantly handed over the wooden spoon in her hand and then looked at Carter. “You’ll watch her?”

Carter laughed again but replied, “Yeah. I’ll make sure she keeps her promise. Count on me.”

Cat fondly smiled at him and said, “I always do.” She then went to the couch and grabbed her suitcase. After a quick look at Adam, a little warning and a little sad, she took the whole thing with her into the bathroom.

Once Kara dropped chicken slices into the oiled skillet, she tuned in to check on Cat. She had to sharpen her focus when she realized Cat had already started the water and then, very distinctly, heard, _“Either he’s being rude because he’s upset about something or his father is an offensive and uneducated asshole. It’s probably the former because he did look at Kara strangely earlier. God, I actually hope he’s mad at her this time. I’d hate to think I left Adam to be raised by someone who taught him to be so disrespectful. Because if that’s true, I’m an even worse mother than I thought.”_

Kara gasped at the same time she heard Cat sniffle on her next inhale.

 _“What am I saying? I already failed him. I’m the absolute worst I could be. Thank_ god _Kara talked to Carter. At least I know she didn’t screw it up. Like I would have. Can I even say I’m trying my hardest with him?”_

Kara closed her eyes and tried not to cry as she felt Cat’s pain the longer she listened.

“Kara, you’re gonna burn that side of the chicken.”

Thank Rao for Carter. She stopped listening to Cat and took a deep breath as Carter snatched the spoon out of her hand and started stirring for her.

“Thanks,” she said with a bright smile, although still a little rattled by Cat’s confessions—Cat’s _private_ confessions she’d eavesdropped on—and then patted Carter’s shoulder. Next time she used her superhearing to spy on Cat, or the others, she promised herself it would only be to listen for concerning sounds of stress or fatigue during their daily adventures.

Except she broke that promise later that same night when she heard the couch squeak too many times just before there was a loud thump in either the living room or kitchen. She grabbed her glasses off the nightstand, tripped over the sheets in her rush out of bed and stumbled to the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw Carter pause in the doorway of his own room with a worried look directed at the couch.

When Cat hissed a few seconds later, they sprung into action and hurried into the living room. As they rounded the couch, they saw Cat on the floor with a pained expression and a hand lightly pressed to her hip.

“Mom,” Carter breathlessly exclaimed. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Carter? What are you doing up? I’m fine. It’s fine. I just rolled off the couch. Too much tossing and turning.”

“You couldn’t sleep?”

He took Cat by one arm and Kara took her by the other. They both helped her sit up and she hissed again before they managed to lift her high enough for her to slide back onto the couch. Then Kara noticed the cut on the other blonde’s forehead.

“Cat, you’re bleeding.”

“That’s what happens when you hit the table on your way down,” Cat grumbled.

“Oh, R- gosh.” She raced to the bathroom and almost tore it apart until she found a clean washcloth and some band-aids. She hurried back and settled on her knees in front of the couch. Then, she set aside the box of various sized band-aids on the cushion next to Cat before she carefully took Cat’s chin in her hand.

Cat jerked away from her touch.

“Mom, she’s trying to help,” Carter insisted.

“I can do it myself,” Cat snapped. Carter recoiled and the sight broke Cat. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just tired. And hurt.”

Kara took that as her opening and pressed the wet washcloth to Cat’s wound while she was distracted.

Immediately, Cat hissed again and clawed at one of Kara’s shoulders. “Motherfu—”

“Sorry.” Although Kara meant it, she purposely spoke over Cat to ensure Carter didn’t hear his mother swear worse than even Kara herself had ever heard from the other woman.

“Nice,” Carter said to Kara with sincerity.

“Happy to help.”

“I can clean my own cut,” Cat reminded her.

“Yes, but I can see it easier than you can feel around to find out where you’re bleeding.”

“Let her help,” Carter requested, and with some desperation added, “please.”

Cat stared at him for a moment before she sighed and said, “I thought I already was.”

Kara and Carter smiled at each other before Kara dabbed at more of the wound and earned the same pained responses from Cat.

“So, why couldn’t you sleep?” Carter sat down on the unoccupied cushion on Cat’s other side as he asked.

“I had too much on my mind,” Cat admitted.

“Like what?”

Cat hesitated before Kara thought she saw the CEO glance at her prior to a verbal response. “For starters? That girl you met earlier today. I never got to hear what you and Kara talked about, so I don’t even know if you intend to make plans with her.”

Carter fidgeted until Cat placed a hand on his wrist. When he looked up at her, she encouragingly smiled at him. Then, he asked, “Would you hate it if I said I was thinking about it?”

“No,” Cat chuckled. “Do I like that my youngest son is old enough to start dating? Of course not, but that’s normal.”

“Because aging is the devil’s favorite torture technique?”

Cat laughed a little louder then and moved away from Kara to hug him. She kissed his forehead then ruffled his hair.

Kara deemed the wound clean enough anyway, dropped the cloth on the floor and grabbed one of the bigger band-aids. As she peeled it off the paper, Cat moved back into her reach. Kara didn’t miss a beat and carefully applied the band-aid while Cat and Carter continued to talk.

“Age is only a small part of it. Truthfully, it’s because I remember when they placed you on my chest at the hospital just like it was yesterday. Then I blinked and now we’re here. There’s this girl asking you to go to the movies. And you weren’t speechless. I remember when you were partnered with a girl for a school project not too long ago. You didn’t talk to her for any of it. You just pointed at things and let your notes about successes, failures and theories about the project talk for you.”

Kara finished with the band-aid at just the right time because Carter’s eyes lit up when he heard that.

“You’re right,” he said. “I actually talked! I said words. Barely, but I mean, I didn’t just stand there.”

Cat looked at him, amused and, more importantly, amazed. “You didn’t realize that earlier? What _did_ you and Kara talk about?”

Kara looked like a deer in headlights, which was—of course—when Cat looked at her.  Soon after that, Carter looked at her, too, and Kara chose to make eye contact with him instead as if he could save her from Kryptonite-like eyes.

“That’s privileged information,” he said while he looked at Cat again and proudly smiled.

Kara relaxed and sat back on her bare heels for a second.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Mom?”

“Yes, Carter. See, Kara made it hideously better.” Cat pointed to the band-aid and she and Carter shared a laugh.

“Hey, at least the cabin owner keeps the plain ones stocked. You could have had to wear smiley faces or _Dora the Explorer_ or something,” Kara weakly defended herself, even though it wasn’t necessary.

“Now I _wish_ they’d had more kid-friendly options,” Carter said. “Imagine looking at a neon pink band-aid on her forehead.”

“Well, she does have that pink jaguar at CatCo.”

“I always thought it was a cougar,” Carter replied with a quizzical expression.

Kara burst out laughing and immediately slapped both hands over her mouth to prevent waking up Adam. Cat glared at her in an instant and it helped Kara calm down a little quicker, but it didn’t stop her from saying, “That would actually make more sense.”

“That’s it. I’m all patched up now, _Kiera_. You can go back to bed now. Both of you.”

Kara smirked and looked down at her lap to avoid Cat’s gaze. She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t laugh again.

“I’m not leaving until I know you really are okay.”

“Carter, I just said—”

“Not just physically. You said you couldn’t sleep. That’s why you fell over. Maybe it’d help if we stayed here with you.”

“’We’?” Cat’s voice sounded sharp, on edge, and it forced Kara’s back ramrod straight.

“Kara will stay, too. Right, Kara?”

“No, we’re not having a…a _sleepover_ in the living room. You can both go back to your rooms. We talked and I’m getting more comfortable with the idea that you’re growing up. Staying would be ridiculous.”

Carter mirrored one of Cat’s infamous eyebrow raises and Cat just stared at him for several seconds.

“Carter,” she said warningly.

“Mom,” he mimicked.

Cat scoffed. “You learned that from the worst.”

“No way. You’re the best,” Carter disagreed with a smile. “Now, I’m going to get our blankets and pillows from the bedrooms. Do you need anything else while I’m up? Ice pack for your hip, maybe?”

“I’m not that old,” Cat argued.

Carter made a sound of protest in his throat and then said, “But that’s not what I meant. You were holding it earlier. If it stings or it’s bruised, ice helps. You taught me that.”

“I did, but I’m okay. Thank you.”

“Okay. Don’t fall over while I’m gone.”

“As opposed to waiting for your return before throwing myself on the ground?”

“You’re so funny,” he said sarcastically on his way down the hall.

Alone with Cat, Kara licked her lips and started to clean up to keep herself busy and avoid any awkwardness.

That turned out to be pointless when Cat said, “You don’t have to stay with him, you know. Make up some excuse. He’s too nice to beg you into complying.”

“Would you mind if I stayed?”

“It’s a bad idea. You know it, too. How many times will I have to remind you about the problems just being around me will create for Adam?”

Kara sighed and tossed the washcloth and band-aids on the coffee table that she then pushed farther away from the couch. “I don’t know, Cat. Are you blue in the face yet? Being physically incapable seems like the only reason you’d stop.”

“Oh, that’s bold. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Yeah, well, I guess you push me to new limits.” Kara paused when she heard what that sounded like and then spun around to face Cat with eyes as wide as saucers. “That came out wrong.”

“I know that,” Cat said with a careless roll of her eyes. “Trust me, you’d have to actually make a move on me before I thought you were even flirting with me.”

“What? Why?”

Cat arched a brow and looked curiously at Kara, which was when Kara realized she shouldn’t have said anything. “I-I just meant…why would it be so hard to believe I was flirting? Not, uh, just with you. I-in general.”

“You really want to know?”

“Well, not if you’re gonna be mean about it.”

“Oh, honestly, Kara,” she responded with exasperation. “Because you giggle and blush and you’re never too forward. Not professionally, not personally, not sexually.”

“Pfft. H-how would you know? You barely even know me personally and definitely not…sexually.”

“The fact that you just whispered the word ‘sexually’ is enough to prove my point, but I’ve seen how you were with James and how you are with Adam. And you won’t even share a room with him. Not even just to sleep, even after two months.”

“But that’s not- That doesn’t mean—”

“Oh no? Then what does it mean? That you’re not sure you like him enough to share a space with him if it’s not also shared with at least one other person?”

“O-okay, so maybe it’s because of the other thing.”

“Mhmm.”

“But please don’t imply I would have to be over the top before you ever thought I was flirting.”

“Why? What does it matter what I think? Besides that, when _would_ you flirt with me? I’m your boyfriend’s mother _and_ your boss. Or have you forgotten?”

Kara was about to respond, but Carter came back out with the blankets and pillows. She sucked in a breath and held it for a few seconds as she looked away from Cat. She exhaled when she looked up and smiled at Carter when he stopped in front of her to hand over her blanket and pillow. “Thanks. Why don’t you take the chair? I can sleep on the floor.”

“What? No. I can sleep on the floor,” he offered. “I’m the youngest, which means I’m less likely to feel like I slept on the floor in the morning.”

“I’m not _that_ much older than you,” Kara shot back with a partially amused look.

Carter smiled but didn’t answer. He dropped his pillow on the floor and started to follow in the same direction.

Kara grabbed the pillow before he could do more than bend his knees and then took his blanket when the action caught him by surprise. She deposited his stuff on the chair she’d mentioned and then made a show out of lifting what would have been heavy to a human of her apparent size yet only felt like a beach ball to her. After she set it down within arm’s reach of the couch, Kara sat back down on the floor and said, “Not up for discussion. I’m a lot tougher than I might look. And I doubt you or your mom want her to crush you if she falls off the couch again.”

“Crush. Please, as if I weigh that much,” Cat grumbled.

“Goodnight, Cat,” Kara said a little passive-aggressively and then sweetly smiled at Carter. “Goodnight, Carter.”

Carter still didn’t seem completely on board with Kara sleeping on the floor, but replied, “Night, Kara” and curled into the chair anyway.

Kara waited until he looked comfortable and closed his eyes before she closed hers, knowing that Cat had yet to move from where she sat on the edge of the couch. She listened with her regular hearing to know when Cat finally laid down and started to settle before she tapped into her superhearing to listen to Carter’s heartbeat as it started to even out. She smiled when she heard proof he’d fallen back asleep and then listened for Cat to do the same. Listening to her heartbeat once already was a little weird but kind of understandable. Twice meant she was making it a habit. Less understandable, more troublesome.

And yet, Kara drifted off to the steady and relaxed beat of Cat’s heart all the same.


End file.
